Wisconsin Concealed Carry Legislative Summary
Wisconsin –-(Ammoland.com)- Greetings in Freedom. On Friday July 8th, 2011 Governor Scott Walker signed a “shall-issue” concealed carry bill into law.
The majority of the provisions in the law take effect in Novermber. The Wisconsin Dept. of Justice will be administering the program.
The original SB93 was a constitutional carry bill. The senate committee passed a modified SB93 that had an optional permit for concealed carry within school zones.
Unfortunately, that modified “constitutional carry” bill did not survive the full senate and it was amended to a “shall-issue” type system. Once the “shall-issue” legislation passed the senate it was clear that constitutional carry had no chance in the legislature this session and in a judicious consideration of our members time, we did not believe further action/legislative contact from our members was required or would have any effect on the final legislation so we did not send any action alerts during that time as we waited to see what the final bill included.
Under the new law you will continue to be able to open carry without a permit in the places you can now. You will also be able to open-carry in your vehicle provided you do not cross a school zone. [good luck on that one -ammoland]
You may continue to conceal carry in your home and business as you can now, but in other places you will effectively be required to get a permit in order to carry concealed. The permits cost $50 and are good for 5 years. The renewal is slated to cost $25. The Dept. of Justice is suppose to have application forms available on Sept. 1st. We will send further updates when they are.
There are a great deal of specifics to the law which I won’t write a novel here to describe, but the following links provide you legislative analysis of the bill. I encourage readers and members to read through these and if you have any questions, I encourage you to join our facebook group (from facebook search “Wisconsin Carry”) and pose your questions there.
- https://legis.wisconsin.gov/lc/publications/im/IM2011_10.pdf
- https://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/2011-13Bills/2011_06_09_SB93_LC.pdf
- https://legis.wisconsin.gov/insession/insessiondocs/lcmemos/SB-93LCMemo.pdf
- https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/galloway/Pages/concealed-carry.aspx
- https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/enrolled/sb93.pdf
- https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/sen11/news/images/0930_001%20FAQ.pdf
In order to obtain a concealed carry permit you will need to have proof of training and pass a background check. There are a number of specifics with regard to the training, but in general here is what qualifies:
- The hunter education program established by the Department of Natural Resources or a substantially similar program that is established by another state, country or province and that is recognized by DNR.
- A firearms safety or training course that is conducted by a national or state organization that certifies firearms instructors.
- A firearms safety or training course that is conducted by a firearms instructor who is certified by a national or state organization that certifies firearms instructors or who is certified by the Department of Justice.
- Documentation that the individual participated in organized shooting competitions or completed military, law enforcement or security training that gave the individual experience with firearms that is substantially equivalent to a course or program described above.
- Documentation of completion of small arms training while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Wisconsin Carry intends to develop a training course that will qualify for the requirements of the law that we will offer at no charge to members. We do not want anyone to be unable to exercise their right to carry in the manner of their choosing because they cannot afford or do not have access to training. Please keep in mind that Wisconsin Carry is a 100% volunteer non-profit corporation so the time it takes us to put together that class may not be as quick as some will desire.
Once you obtain the permit, you will be able to carry in the manner of your choosing (open or concealed) everywhere you can currently open carry IN ADDITION to within “school zones”. Carry remains prohibited on school GROUNDS for everyone (permit or not).
If you are a Wisconsin resident, you will need to get the Wisconsin permit. Your non-resident permit from another state cannot be used as your permit. It is my understanding that it can be used as proof of training if it is from a state that required training to obtain their permit.
This information is just a basic overview of the shall-issue legislation that was signed into law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. As always, you should read, research and understand the law completely. The above links will allow you to do so.
I will be writing another article shortly to discuss the past year’s successes and failure as well as the future goals and initiatives of Wisconsin Carry.
Carry On,
Nik Clark
Chairman/President – Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
www.wisconsincarry.org
nik@wisconsincarry.org
facebook: search “Wisconsin Carry”
www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry
www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry
About:
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the rights of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to carry in the manner of their choosing. We believe that “open carry” and “concealed carry” are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on their situation and preference. Wisconsin Carry, like many gun-rights organizations in Wisconsin, is investing a great deal of resources to get Wisconsin law changed to allow concealed carry this next legislative session by proposing Constitutional Carry. Wisconsin Carry, Inc. will continue to use legal recourse to deter unlawful treatment of law-abiding Wisconsin residents who currently exercise their right to open carry, and soon will exercise their right to concealed carry in Wisconsin. Visit: www.wisconsincarry.org