Milwaukee is a divided state in many ways. A swing state in 2016, it’s one the Democrats have their sights set on for 2020. President Trump narrowly claimed the state last time around and Democrats are convinced they can take it back.

One issue they’ve figured would work in their favor is gun control. Then again, they’ve been figuring that all along and so far, that doesn’t seem to be panning out like they believed it would.

However, following the shooting in Milwaukee on Wednesday, it seems the Democrats are trying to use the incident as a cudgel on pro-gun legislators.

[Gov. Tony] Evers said in an interview Thursday that he’s pessimistic the latest shooting will cause Republicans to reconsider their position against stricter gun laws.

“As leaders, we have to pray and give our heartfelt condolences to people that pass away, but, at the same time, we have an obligation as leaders to think about what solutions exist,” Evers said in a telephone interview. “I think the people of Wisconsin deserve that, too.”

Just before the shooting, Evers had renewed his call for the state Legislature to take up bills that would enact a universal background check for gun purchases and institute a “red-flag” law allowing judges to confiscate guns from people determined to be a risk to themselves and others. Seventeen states have passed red flag laws and 21 have similar universal background check laws.

Both the state Senate and Assembly in November quickly adjourned a special session on Evers’ bills with no debate. Roughly an hour before Wednesday’s shooting, the leader in the state Senate reiterated that Republicans had no intention of taking up the bills.

“They’ve dug in their heels and it’s unfortunate,” Evers said. “The people of Wisconsin expect better and I’m hopeful they’ll change their mind but I’m a pessimist. On big votes the people of Wisconsin lose out because they don’t know where their legislators stand.”

In other words, the typical nonsense we see from Democrats following a shooting.

Look, no one wants to see another mass shooting. The problem is, anti-gun Democrats are being thick-headed and acting as if there’s only one potential solution to such a thing.

Even if we believed that gun control would stop a mass shooting, at this point we can’t even tell just what gun control measures might have even played a factor. So far as we know, the killer had nothing in his criminal history that would bar him from purchasing a firearm. No one has spoken of red flags popping up that would have signaled something like this could happen. He didn’t use one of the dreaded “assault rifles.” Nothing.

So far as anyone can tell, nothing being talked about would have made a difference anyway.

But people like Evers don’t actually care about the slain. They just want to use their bodies as a soapbox in order to curtail our civil liberties.

Meanwhile, I can’t help but think about how everyone in that building was essentially barred from carrying a firearm to work. How many guns might have been pointing back at the gunman had the rules been just a little different?

Somehow, I don’t think Evers wants to have that discussion.