Wisconsin –-(Ammoland.com)- A troubling bill has hit the radar of Wisconsin Carry. We began watching this bill a few weeks ago, but it didn’t appear to have legs at that time. Now it does.
Senate Bill 555 is a bill that gives FORMER law enforcement folks the right to carry on private property EVEN IF THE OWNER HAS POSTED THE PROPERTY.
The bill ALSO exempts OFF-DUTY and FORMER LEO’s from the Gun-Free-School-Zone statutes (which prohibits law-abiding concealed carry license holders from carrying on school property like soccer fields, ball diamonds, and playgrounds)
It has been voted out of committee 5-0. Senator Glen Grothman is on the committee and voted for it. I would note that Sen. Wanggard spoke for the bill, as did the Attorney General and Rep. Joel Kleefisch.
The bill exempts three groups from the criminal trespass statute and the GFSZ act:
- On duty LEOs (L.aw E.nforcement O.fficers)
- Off duty LEOs
- FORMER LEOs
The exemption is not needed for On-Duty LEOs. If they have a valid police reason to go onto the private property, then they are exempt anyway under the common law of “privilege.” On-Duty police officers are exempt from the GFSZ law when they are acting in their official capacity.
Wisconsin Carry DOES believe the Gun-Free School Zone statute is a horrible law, but we do NOT believe that it is right to create a special class of citizens (off-duty cops and former cops) who are exempt from the law while having us “regular folks” have to live/be encumbered by it.
If YOU, the average Joe-Concealed-Carry-License-Holder can’t go to your kids’ soccer game on school grounds and carry, why should on off-duty or FORMER LEO? Are they special people? If a former LEO has a reason to carry on School property, YOU DO TOO!
Wisconsin Carry recommends that businesses allow carrying, but for the businesses that post “no firearms” if YOU are trespassing if you carry in a posted business, OFF-DUTY and FORMER LEO’s should not have special privileges. If a business regrettably doesn’t want guns on their property, that should apply to off-duty and former officers just like the rest of us.
Please contact your State SENATORS today! Ask them to reject special privileged classes of people and to either exempt ALL concealed carry license holders from the GFSZ law or vote against SB 555 which creates a special class of citizens who enjoys rights and privileges the rest of us do not.
Tell your senators that exempting off-duty and former LEO’s from posted private property is wrong as well. Use the following link to locate your STATE SENATORS:Â https://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx
Use this phone number to call the Wisconsin Legislative Hotline and speak to your State Senators:Â 1-800-362-9472
Carry On,
P.O. Box 270403
Milwaukee, WI 53227
[email protected]
About Wisconsin Carry
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 lot 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
