Wisconsin Confusion

[average_shooter]

So I went to buy ammo this weekend, from a store here in MN, and ended up talking to one of the guys behind the counter for a while. He said that there was a city in WI that just passed an all-out handgun ban. I can't remember if he said Madison, or Milwaukee, or maybe another city altogether. I searched here with "wisconsin ban" and tried to google it and couldn't really find anything. Was this guy misinformed or are my search skills that severely lacking? Or is this just something proposed or really old news?

 

[MattC]

Not Madison, not Milwaukee...I'm not sure what the guy was talking about.

 

[phorvick]

Beloit has a law requiring names and residence of people buying ammo. I stopped at the Wal-Mart in Beloit to get some 9mm and lo and behold out came the book to enter my name. So, I am now on the Beloit PD list of those that have the common terrorist 9mm hand cannon.

 

[Trip20]

Every Gander Mountain flyer I receive states that handguns are not available in their Madison store.

I've often wondered why... wasn't sure if it was a city ordinance... a company policy... or some deal the city has worked out with all the retailers by way of tax breaks or Lord knows what else.

 

[MattC]

Well, I was confused and had never noticed that disclaimer before. So, I called the Madison Gander Mountain. The lady said there's some law that won't let them sell handguns in Madison, but she doesn't know much about it. Now I'm curious, and am going to look more into this. I'll be back when I figure something out.

 

[MattC]

Well, the only mention of handguns in the Madison municipal ordinances is regarding zoning. The part of the quote at the end in bold lettering tells why Gander Mountain cannot sell handguns in Madison.

Zoning Code
28.03 RULES AND DEFINITIONS.
28.03(2) Definitions .

Handgun shop . A handgun shop is any premises or portion thereof used for the sale, vending, dealing, exchange or transfer, within a twelve (12) month period, of two (2) or more handguns as defined in Sec. 25.01(1), Madison General Ordinances, or short-barreled handguns as defined in Sec. 25.02(2), Madison General Ordinances. (Cr. by Ord. 11,506, 1-26-96)

28.10 MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS.
28.10(4) M1 Limited Manufacturing District .
28.10(4)(c) Permitted Uses . The following uses are permitted in the M1 district:
28.10(4)(c)(59). Handgun shop, subject to the following conditions:

28.10(4)(c)(59)(a). Such shop shall be located in a building of Type 5 construction as defined in ILHR 51.03(5), Wisconsin Administrative Code.

28.10(4)(c)(59)(b). No handgun shop shall be located within 1000 feet of any church, synagogue, temple, mosque or any other place of worship, any lot in a residence district, either in the City of Madison or in a municipality adjacent to the City of Madison, any of the following planned developments which allow residential dwelling units: planned community development, planned unit development, and planned community mobile home parks; any public park, any private or public elementary, secondary or vocational school, any public or private playground, any day care center, any public library, any youth recreation area including little league baseball fields, soccer fields, or YMCA/YWCA.

28.10(4)(c)(59)(c). No handgun shop shall be located in the same detached building where alcohol beverages are sold.

28.10(4)(c)(59)(d). No handgun shop shall be located in the same detached building where any patron thereof under the age of 18 years may enter, unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or adult spouse 18 years of age or over.

(Cr. by Ord. 11,506, 1-26-96)

The store itself can be entered by anyone under the age of 18 without a parent, guardian, or adult spouse. Anyone can walk in to a Gander Mountain. So, no handguns. Seems like they wanted to make handguns something taboo, so only speciality gun stores/porn shops can sell them.

Handgun sales ARE NOT BANNED in Madison, but are made difficult for businesses.

 

[Trip20]

That's pretty silly.

 

[bclark1]

Why would you build a Gander Mountain in Madison? Yeah, it's convenient to a lot of rural communities not far out there, but it still strikes me as building an igloo in hell. There's better places. Oh Madison...

 

[AJ Dual]

WI has state firearm law preemption. No county or municipality can make gun ordinances tougher than state law, which except for WI's utter lack of CCW, are pretty lax.

AFAIK, the Beloit handgun ammunition register, a-la the original GCA '68, is there only because no one has bothered to challenge it in court. Beloit would lose in a hurry if someone bothered to do it.

Otherwise, the only thing WI cities can do is petty zoning harassment like Madison does as MattC points out. A minor inconvenience, but does nothing to stop handgun ownership.

 

[average_shooter]

Looks like I may need to inform the salesperson next time I'm in there, then. Thanks for the info everybody.

 

[jenniferjane]

I noticed a distinct lack of handguns in the Gander Mountain in Madison. That's interesting.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Madison had a brief ban on the sale and possession of handguns in the mid-1990's. The statewide pre-emption bill passed in the 1995/1996 legislature ended the ban.

As I recall, the ban even affected hunters with rifles or shotguns in the trunks of their vehicles who were passing through Madison on the interstate.

In 1994, the cities of Milwaukee and Kenosha put handgun bans on the ballot as referendum items. Thanks in no small part to the efforts of police officers who went door-to-door distributing literature opposing the bans, the bans were defeated by a margin of almost 70%.

There is no current ban on the sale or possession of handguns in Madison. However, the powers that be lean on the owners of gun shops. Thus, there may be one gun shop that sells handguns.

 

[cracked butt]

Who the heck would want to live in Beloit anyhow? I can't imagine anyone moving there by choice.