Despite protests from gun owners, three hearings held around the state recently solidified training requirements for concealed carry,
Madison, Wisconsin –-(Ammoland.com)- The Wisconsin Department of Justice issued a 34-page document containing the proposed permanent rules for issuance of Wisconsin concealed weapons permits this summer.
The proposal was heard at three public hearings around the state and was designed to finalize the temporary emergency rules that were hastily put into place when Act 35 was passed in early November 2011.
In addition to representing a lengthy bit of legalise and grand example of government regulation of the inalienable rights of gun owners with a draconian choke hold more stringent than those dreamt up by even the most ardent dictators of history, the proposed rules were basically a rubber stamp on the neoconservatives ultimate vision of permanent government control of concealed carry in Wisconsin.
At issue were the training requirements to get a permit. DOJ proposed imposing a 50-student limit to CCW classes, but also more Big Brotherish requirements like training on “how to stay out of trouble” were included.
The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) criticized Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen for saying, “The final rule even has more requirements… I am not prepared to lay all of them out…”
Dudley Brown, executive director of NAGR, railed on Van Hollen’s Justice Department for “inventing new regulations and restrictions for the implementation of the newlypassed compromise concealed carry law,” he said. “Van Hollen’s rules for issuing permits included an additional four hours of training that lawmakers deliberately left out of the bill.
“You and I both know that it’s up to Senators and Representatives to make our laws, not the Attorney General,” said Brown.
Van Hollen had argued that because the concealed weapons law doesn’t define the training requirement, the DOJ needed to do so. Now, following the public hearings on the matter (which were described by WGO as a dog-andpony- show) gun owners find the DOJ setting the bar higher than what the state legislature ever intended.
“Silence on the requirements by the legislature does not mean a bureaucracy should move in to create their own rules,” said Corey Graff, executive director of Wisconsin Gun Owners (WGO). “When a legislature leaves something unregulated it should stay unregulated. It’s an old idea called freedom.”
Despite the outcry from gun owners, the new rules also set forth more “daddymay- I?” requirements like getting specific signatures for completion of training and making the classes at least four hours long.
Indeed, many gun owners have no problem with training and see the requirements as minor inconveniences not worth protesting. However, as pointed out by WGO, as more and more rules become codified and accepted, the prospect for passing Constitutional Carry and returning to a full expression of the right to bear arms without government intrusion becomes increasingly difficult.
About:
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: Defining the terrain of pro-gun political battle. Sure, many groups claim they’re “pro-gun” – all the while they provide cover for anti-gun deals cut by politicians – but only WGO truly informs gun owners, remaining committed to a 100% pro-gun position. We oppose all gun control – regardless of the political party – and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. Visit www.wisconsingunowners.org