In the last few years, Wisconsin has made a lot of progress restoring the right to keep and bear arms. The Eat Cheese or Die state has built on the Constitutional amendment it passed in 1998, with 74 percent of the vote. “The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose,” the text reads.
In 2011 Wisconsin passed Act 35, a shall-issue law. Since then, the legislature has made improvements to the Act, reducing the cost and putting concealed carry applications and renewals online. The legislature also removed the 48-hour waiting period Wisconsin required for handgun purchases from federal firearms licensees.
Representative Jesse Kremer is one of those who seems to believe that Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment, now Article 1, Section 25 of the Wisconsin state constitution, means what it says. He’s introduced gun-related reforms for the 2017 session, including eliminating the requirement of a permit for concealed carry. If the bill makes it to Governor Walker’s desk, Wisconsin will join the permitless or “constitutional carry” club, with 11 member states as members and Puerto Rico (if a current court ruling there holds).
Representative Kremer also wants to mandate campus carry — with a permit. (He recently defended his objectives on Wisconsin Public Radio.) In the University of Wisconsin student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal, Kremer extolled the virtues of campus carry:
Kremer said both parties are working to make college campuses safer but argued that college students who are of legal concealed carry age should have the same rights as those who are the same age but not in college.
“I feel we need to be proactive for a bill like this where we provide protection and prevent crime around our college campuses,” he said.
Wisconsin has suffered from a lack of strong Second Amendment leadership in the legislature since Senator Pam Galloway resigned in March of 2012. Galloway had been instrumental in passing Act 35, one of the most successful shall issue permit laws, in 2011. The legislature seems primed to pass significant reforms, but leadership on the issue has been lacking. Representative Kremer may emerge as the Second Amendment legislative leader that Wisconsin needs.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
If you thought the pearl clutching in Austin, TX was bad when campus carry was passed, wait ’till you see what happens in Madison, WI. They will absolutely wet their pants.
Indeed they will. Madison’s commie-crackheads were pushing “herstory” and “womyn’s studies” back in the 90s when I decided I’d had enough of that town. Outside of Madison, it’s a completely different state.
Agreed, I went to college in Wisconsin (but not at Univ of Wisconsin) and it’s a beautiful state with lots of great people- outside of 2-3 counties.
Constitutional Carry there would be fantastic.
I’ve really wanted to organize an open carry 5k/10k in downtown Madison and call it “Running and Gunning”. It would “trigger” so many SJW’s and carrying on university grounds is already legal.
Yes, do that! I’m only 25 minutes North of Madison, I know tons of potg that would come down for an open carry 5K around here.
http://www.wisn.com/article/uw-madison-students-to-carry-sex-toys-to-protest-gun-bill/8537067
And the reaction from the students are to open carry their dildos. Really glad I didn’t end up choosing this or going back to Milwaukee for graduate school. Though I am all for campus carry, doubtful it’ll happen in St. Louis.
I would love to see it pass.
However, Wisconsin votes blue in a LOT of elections and I cannot see them having enough votes to pass constitutional carry. I couldn’t even believe it when they passed concealed carry.
Wisconsin was rather late to the party on CC, weren’t they?
At least they didn’t wait for their CC law to be overturned by a court, like Illinois.
And the reason that Wisconsin was so late to licensed concealed carry: because the people of Wisconsin kept electing governors (especially Democrats) over and over who opposed concealed carry.
Like I said, Wisconsin has a pretty consistent track record of voting Democrats (or RINOs) and that is why I suspect they will not enough supports/votes for constitutional concealed carry.
Heck, in the last 10 years, their alleged constitutional open carry was utterly a no-go almost everywhere. Why would constitutional concealed carry be okay?
In case you haven’t noticed, Scott Walker has turned Wisconsin red. And the only people who use RINO are the actual RINOs.
Look at Wisconsin, michigan and other midwest states since ’10, many are turning red. WI and Michigan are right to work, that’s HUGE.
Hopw it passes there and also hope we see it in many other states come next year.
You still need a permit under the new bill and you still have to pay $40. So nothing has changed other than the need to have some form of training. Or did I miss something?
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