The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports

Gerhard Witte, the 70-year-old physician charged Wednesday with slitting his ex-wife’s throat in a downtown parking garage, repeatedly threatened to kill the woman after she filed for divorce in early 2005, once telling police he wouldn’t need a gun because “he is a medical doctor, and he knows precisely where to cut someone.”

Elisabeth Witte, who was killed Sunday after performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, was so afraid of Gerhard Witte, according court records, that she temporarily moved to Germany. But the threats continued.

“He stated he considers his wife no more than an intruder who intends to steal his property,” according to the incident report. “Witte states it is now war between himself and his wife, and he has given her an ultimatum with three choices:

“She can come home, . . . leave without any of his money, or be killed.

“When asked if he had any firearms, Witte stated he will not use a gun. Witte stated he is a medical doctor, and he knows precisely where to cut someone.”

According to the complaint charging Witte with first-degree intentional homicide, he carried through on that threat Sunday.

Gerhard Witte had repeatedly threatened to kill his ex-wife, indicated how he would do it, and yet the state of Wisconsin left Elizabeth with no more than a piece of paper to protect herself. Would she have chosen to carry a gun to protect herself? Maybe, maybe not, but shouldn’t she have been given that option? So far, 48 states have some form of right-to-carry, with 39 of those being shall-issue. Only 2 states, Wisconsin and Illinois, have no from of right-to-carry. None of the RTC states has seen a rise in crime due to the right-to-carry, with most seeing a decrease in crime. None have seen fit to tighten the restrictions, although some have loosened them. It is time for Governor Doyle to stop playing games with the people of Wisconsin. Twice, the legislature passed a right-to-carry bill, twice Doyle vetoed it. How many senseless killings do we have to see before this law is passed? Wisconsin residents should be afforded the right to choose to protect themselves, and how they want to do that.