Wisconsin Concealed Carry: Is a Sell-Out in the Works?
Madison, Wis. —-(AmmoLand.com)- A recent editorial appearing in the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (It’s time to reconsider concealed carry law) ought to alarm gun owners. That’s because it underscores a push to create tougher gun laws by using concealed carry as a carrot to lure in and dupe activists into complacency and surrender, say leaders of Wisconsin Gun Owners (WGO).
“We’ve been warning gun owners to prepare for a tough fight on concealed carry, and to expect marginal state republicans to cave in to pressure from anti-gun bureaucrats,” said Corey Graff, executive director of WGO. “If liberals suddenly claim to support concealed carry in exchange for tougher gun laws you can bet gun owners stand more to lose than we do to gain. You know something’s amiss.”
One of the bargaining chips up for grabs is to make carrying a concealed weapon a felony in Wisconsin, in exchange for passage of a permit bill. It is currently a misdemeanor.
Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm and Milwaukee Chief of Police Ed Flynn (Flynn no friend of the Second Amendment, someone who recently told his “troops” to throw gun owners found to be open carrying to the ground and ‘then decide what rights they have’) are proposing a comprehensive gun control package.
“We all should be willing to live with concealed carry if it is part of comprehensive firearm reform and if prosecutors are given the ability to severely punish those illegally carrying guns [emphasis added],” opined the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “In other words, the trade-off is worthy if also included are tools that, as Flynn describes it, make it just as dangerous for folks to carry illegal guns as they think it is to go without them.
“And getting caught with a concealed gun but without a permit should carry significant penalties.”
In other words: Those caught exercising their right to bear arms should face significant penalties, WGO pointed out.
WGO warned activists that such a package would be a step back not only in the proposed gun control package (including closing the so-called “gun show loophole”) but also on concealed carry.
“We want to move in the direction of more freedom for gun owners, not less,” said Graff. “Carrying concealed weapons in Wisconsin should not be a misdemeanor as it currently is, but it sure should not be upgraded to a felony.
“We should not allow unelected bureaucrats to herd us into a gun control scheme. There is a right way and a wrong way to fight for concealed carry, and giving up more ground than you gain is most definitely the wrong way,” Graff said.
WGO also warned gun activists that preemptively surrendering is not a good way to negotiate and leaves them vulnerable to accept a restrictive piece of CCW legislation — such as forcing gun owners into a criminal database monitored by law enforcement.
“…[I]f concealed-carry legislation is crafted, it should be done with reasonable access for law enforcement to the database so they can know who’s carrying,” the Sentinel concluded.
Be ready: With bureaucrats leaking their intent to shove a fistful of new anti-gun regulations down our throats, and the institutional gun lobby proving itself willing to concede the concealed carry fight before it begins, gun activists need to be ready to demand both a good concealed carry package — and fight like hell to oppose more oppressive gun control as well.
If you’re tired of the broken system of compromise and access — a system which has netted gun owners only more gun control — we urge you to Join Wisconsin Gun Owners, Inc. today!
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
No one had a SHIT FIT when 6 hunters got shot a couple of years ago ,so why now? That was just swept under the rug!! Crazy people kill, guns don't-you might as well sue GOD for making rocks because Cain killed Abbel as to sue Remington or any other gun manufacturer. If people don't have a gun they will and do use whatever is available to do harm to others!!!!
To AmmoLand: Not exactly, you may hurt someone’s feelings with speech but it is not fatal. Guns are fatal and unfortunately, many people do not understand use of force and escalation of force. Law abiding citizens who get their idea of the law from television may not understand the restrictions on using deadly force and the legal tests for justification of the use of deadly force. Should the government protect people from their own ignorance? I’m not sure, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and to require those carrying loaded firearms to at least be required… Read more »
Tougher laws lke what – No newborn shall be issued an AK-47 at birth without parental consent? Give me a break already! Hey I love guns, shooting and being able to protect myself from bad guys as much as the next guy, but come on already. How about some give and take? Concealed carry is a big step forward for WI in my opinion, but we should also consider gun safety and responsibility as well. Well regulated militia does not mean a bunch of yahoos with weapons running around shooting anyone who looks at them cross wise. How about mandatory… Read more »
Al: I just need to correct you on your points. A drivers license is a privilege provided by the state that they can regulate at will.
To keep and bear arms is a god given right as pointed out in the constitution and which the state has no authority to regulate as they would a privilege, in other words should you have to take a test to participate in free speech? Well it is exactly the same?
FYI
Kick in my door………………………
Make sure you own a gun that will defeat police armour. A 9mm will not, do get a rifle. Steel core ammo works best, or a gun powerful enough that their armour will not matter. A good deer gun will work. They are trying to keep the police more powerful than the people. Do not let this happen. The 2nd amendment was written so that the state militia can not over power the people. This isn't about protection from criminals but from the government. Make sure the police fear kicking in a door and pointing guns at people that are… Read more »
I am an active duty US Marine stationed in North Carolina, though my home is in Wisconsin. I have a legal concealed carry handgun license in NC. Here is the process I had to go through to receive that permit: 1) Take a course given by the state police on the legal ramifications of using deadly force, carrying a firearm, places firearms are not permitted, and escalation of force (cost= $80); 2) Perform with a pistol at a private firing range, at various distances (with holster-drawn firing mandatory to pass); 3) Get a certificate from the state health department stating… Read more »
Corey Graff, executive director of WGO ???
Who is this guy? Where was he during the micro-stamping fiasco?
Why was/is he late to the OC debate.
Have no idea who he is, but he doesn't represent THIS gun owner.
here's another trickey dick solution to denying the rights of the people of wisconsin the right to carry for protection.flynn,gets his way and he can pick and choose who has the right to carry a gun.second,the police chiefs in the other districts of wisconsin can also play this pick and choose lottery for right to carry.compermise,open and conceal carry for wisconsin.dont let police chief's become hitlers of the peoples rights to carry for protection.for now,open carry.
So evidently, the historically anti-gun Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is willing to support allowing citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights and carry a firearm concealed. What is the motivation for this turn of events? Could it be that recent data by the FBI in its Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, indicated that the volume of violent crime in the nation decreased 4.4 percent? This is in light of the fact that guns and ammunition sales have been through the roof in late 2008 and all of 2009. States that issue "right to carry" permits reported dramatic increases in permit requests… Read more »
Paperwork, fingerprints, photographs, fees, and background checks to allow people to carry a side-arm? What kind of nonsense is this? The right of self-defense is a corollary to the right to life; to deny one is to deny the other. The purpose of government is to insure our rights, not to infringe on them. The fact is that governments should not be involved in permitting the carriage of weapons, either openly or concealed, by anyone. Our constitution states that the right of the people to keep (possess) and bear (carry) arms shall not be infringed. Marbury v. Madison (1803) decided… Read more »