The bill is symbolic only. The state rifle designation would not force anyone to purchase or use the weapon.
But it would give the rifle and its manufacturer, Rice Lake-based Henry Repeating Arms, plenty of publicity and help the bill's authors score points with gun supporters.
The company's Big Boy All-Weather Rifle won the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce's "Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin" contest in 2019. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is the state's largest business association and a staunch Republican ally. State Sen. Chris Larson, a Milwaukee Democrat, scoffed at the bill. His city has been grappling with a sharp uptick in homicides since the COVID-19 pandemic began and guns have been the weapon of choice.
"Are you kidding me?" Larson said of the bill. "Why? Why? You know, there are mounting problems in our communities that people are facing. It seems silly that we’re trying to go down a path of trying to designate things that are just bumper-sticker signals to a base."
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