The good citizens of Wisconsin have been denied their right to self-defense for too long and the time has now come to make the Personal Protection Act a reality! It is time that Wisconsin joins Free America and the 48 other states with concealed carry laws. The bills have been circulated for sponsorship and have now been assigned numbers.
Two bills introduced in the 2011 legislative session allow Wisconsinites to carry concealed weapons for personal protection. Senate Bill 93, known as “permitless carry” would simply eliminate the current prohibition against law-abiding citizens carrying concealed firearms. Many citizens already carry openly and this will allow them to conceal their firearms. It also eliminates the “cased and unloaded” requirement for handguns in motor vehicles. State Senator Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) has introduced SB 93 and there is currently no companion bill in the Assembly. This fact does not preclude the bill from being passed by the Senate and then the Assembly to ultimately become law.
The second is Assembly Bill 126/Senate Bill 90, a “shall issue” carry license bill that allows Wisconsinites to obtain a license from the state Department of Justice in order to carry a concealed weapon. This license bill offers some additional benefits. These include the ability to use the license to carry a concealed weapon in many other states while traveling and the ability to carry concealed weapons in school zones (1000-foot area surrounding school grounds) within the state. These zones are prolific and it is virtually impossible to navigate populated areas without entering them while engaging in routine activities. The federal penalty for a school zone violation is up to five years in prison and a fine. State Representative Jeffrey Mursau (R-Crivitz) and state Senator Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) are the sponsors of this legislation, respectively.
Please contact your state legislators to ask that they support these bills and request that they oppose any amendments that restrict your ability to defend yourself or place unnecessary hurdles in the process required to obtain a concealed weapons license. Too many legislators are acting as if there are not 48 other states with such concealed carry laws and that there is no way of determining what works and what does not. The time for guessing has ended!
We have provided two documents that will further inform you about this fight for your rights. One is a summary of the bills, with details regarding the “shall issue” carry license bill, and the other is a comprehensive Questions and Answers document. The summary focuses on the “shall issue” carry bill because it is more complicated than the “permitless carry” bill.
It should be noted that SB 93, the “permitless carry” bill, is being considered only at the Senate's Wausau hearing and not in the Assembly's Madison hearing. If you wish to testify on and support SB 93, you should plan to attend the hearing in Wausau. As a matter of legislative policy, committees do not accept testimony on bills that are not on the committee agenda. Therefore, it is safe to assume that testimony will be allowed only on AB 126 in the Assembly hearing.
In addition to contacting legislators, it is very important that we have a strong showing of support at the committee hearings TOMMORROW in Madison and Wausau. You can rest assured that the anti-freedom forces will be there and they must be countered. The hearings set for tomorrow are as follows:
Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections
Thursday, May 12 at 10:30 a.m.
State Capitol Building
Room 417 North
Madison, WI
(only the “shall issue” carry license bill will be heard)
Senate Committee on Judiciary
Thursday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m.
UW Marathon County
Center for Civic Engagement
625 Stewart Street Wausau, WI
(both bills will be heard)
To contact your legislators, you can call the Legislative Hotline at 800-362-9472 or you can click here and find individual contact information for your state Senator and state Representative. PLEASE ACT SOON! YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS ON IT!
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