WI: senate passes CCW bill 24 to 8

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Monkeyleg

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Today the state Senate passed SB214, the Personal Protection Act concealed carry bill, by a margin of 24 to 8 votes.

In the Senate, those who voted for the bill were Republican Senators Lasee, Cowles, Reynolds, Darling, Leibham, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Breske, Fitzgerald, Welch, Schultz, Roessler, Ellis, Panzer, Stepp, Zien, Lazich, Brown, Kanavas, and Democrat Senators Wirch, Lassa, Plale, Breske, Decker and Meyer. Senator Gary George was not present.

Voting against the bill were Senators Carpenter, Moore, Robson, Chvala, Jauch, Risser, Erpenbach, and Hansen.

The bill was supposed to have been taken up on Wednesday, but one Milwaukee senator in particular succeeded in delaying the bill in committee Tuesday evening. Then the bill was supposed to have been taken up around 11am yesterday, but primarily because of the actions of that same Milwaukee senator on the school choice bill on Wednesday evening, every bill scheduled for the day was delayed by several hours. Last evening, the senate leadership decided to take up the bill at 7am this morning.

The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee will be voting on the bill next week, where it is expected to pass. It will then be sent to the general Assembly, where it's also expected to pass. Then, once the bill is delivered to Governor Doyle's desk, it's almost certain that he will veto it.

We can see by today's Senate activity that we can get the votes to override Doyle's veto. We can also get the override votes in the Assembly. In other words, we can win.

Now is not the time to be complacent or lazy, nor is it the time to be pessimistic or indifferent. It's the time to act. We're in the final stages of a ten-year effort to get concealed carry for Wisconsin. The anti-gun forces can still try to use the tactics of delay and obstruction. We have to keep every vote that's been won. Governor Doyle will be exerting enormous pressure to get Democrats to change their minds. Whether or not we win depends upon all of us, and all of our gunowner friends.

We need to get everyone we know to write and call their legislators. There's no time to waste, since the override sessions will likely come very quickly after the Assembly vote. If you don't know who your legislators are, go to http://www.legis.state.wi.us/waml to find out. Your friends without internet access can call 1-800-362-9472 to be transferred to their legislators' offices.

This isn't just about people being able to carry concealed. This is about taking back the gun rights that we've lost over the last 35 years. It's about a process of returning rights to every gunowner--deer hunter, duck hunter, trap shooter, pistol shooter, military rifle shooter, benchrest shooter or just plain plinker. When gunowners stand united, we win. This is about facing down the Sarah Brady's, Ted Kennedy's and Chuck Schumer's in this country and letting them know that WE hold the power.

Let's light up the phone lines!

And please forward this to every gunowner you know.
 
Lonnie, the few amendments that were approved in the senate today did almost nothing to weaken the bill. One amendment included Kindergartens in the description of "schools." The other amendment changed the size of the "no guns" signs from 11"x11" to "8 1/2" x "11". Clearly, the change in the signage size requirement is to make it easier for the anti's to fax "no guns" signs to businesses. When those businesses start to get robbed more often, the signs will come down.

The bill kept many, many areas open to concealed carry, including the state Capitol. Opponents tried to tack on amendments that would have restricted carry so far that you couldn't leave your house without violating the law.

This isn't the best bill in the country, but it sure ranks pretty high. And, once it passes the override, we can work to make it better.

To be honest, I thought the bill would be watered down much further, and I was personally willing to accept less just to get our foot in the door.

Let's face it: Wisconsin ain't Texas.
 
Monkeyleg:

Again, the school zones law is what concerns me. I know of no state that has such a "school zones" restriction against license concealed carriers. Granted it exempts people in a car travelling through a "school zone", but does nothing for those of us who use public transit or walk on foot.
 
Lonnie, I'm not trying to pick nits here, but my understanding from Senator Zien's office is that the mode of transportation is not an issue when travelling through a school zone.

Today's senate debate mentioned specifically all of the different modes of transport, and it was the anti's who brought up the subject. ("How can we allow someone with a 'hidden gun' to ride a bicycle past a school, and maybe shoot it up, and this bill will allow that?").

If you can, please point to the particulars in the bill, and I'll see if Senator Zien or Representative Gunderson's offices can provide clarification.
 
I see in the bill that you must be a resident to get a permit, that I understand. What I am curious about is if Wisconsin will recognize out of state permits. In the bill it refers to "a licensee or out-of-state licensee" several times, so is it possible Wisconsin will recognize my Minnesota permit?

I am a NRA instructor in Minnesota and do training for permits to carry. When Wisconsin gets the guidelines together on what is required for training, I sure would appreciate the info. ;)
 
cobb, originally the bill was written so that all permits from all issuing states would be honored. One senator whose vote was absolutely needed objected to that provision. So, in order to get his vote, the committee agreed to amend the bill so that the Department of Justice can review the training requirements of other states, and extend reciprocity to those states with similar or more rigorous training requirements.

I wish that amendment hadn't been necessary, but it's not as though there are a lot of states that honor all states' permits.

Also, since the training requirements in the Wisconsin bill aren't that strict, most states should meet the DOJ standards.
 
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