The public hearings for the Concealed Carry Bills are this Thursday May 12th. The details are listed below. The Rock River Patriots support CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY only for many reasons. See our Constitutional Carry post for many of the reasons contained our “Talking Points Memo”.
Another reason to support CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY is because, as Constitutional Conservatives, we want to keep government limited in size and scope. This “permit carry” bill opens the door for more gov’t in our lives. I thought that is what the Republicans in Wisconsin campaigned on…Limited Government!
While we highly recommend that all gun owners get training, the training requirement is something that should be VOLUNTARY. Since 2009 people have been carrying openly in WI without any incident that I am aware of that would be classified as a “training issue”. There is no no training requirement to open carry. There is also no training requirement in Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska, or Arizona where they have Constitutional Carry. If any major incidents have happened there, they have not been widely publicized.
THERE ARE GAMES BEING PLAYED IN MADISON REGARDING THE CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY BILL. It seems the leadership doesn’t want this bill to even get a chance to be debated on the floor and voted on. There is no Constitutional Carry bill that has been submitted in the Assembly. This may be because the Republican Leadership is bowing to the NRA instead of listening to all of the TEA Party/Patriot Groups/2nd Amendment Groups in WI. Here is an email from one WI Patriot:
The NRA and certain elected officials are selling out Wisconsin’s gun owners and all 2ndAmendment advocates. That is the only way to describe it when a popular movement is being thwarted and elected official present two nearly identical bills to confuse and divide the population.
In two Journal Sentinel polls, over 16,000 people responded to questions about Concealed Carry. In the first poll, 81% of 8,400 respondents supported “a Concealed Carry law.” In the second poll, 64% of 8,200 respondents supported “Constitutional Carry.” This clearly shows a public mandate for Constitutional Carry.
However, the NRA is promoting the Permitted Carry bill as opposed to the Constitutional Carry bill. This could be because Constitutional Carry means they won’t be getting any new members to follow their news for updates when the government mandates training they currently claim not to support. The NRA and others have a vested interest in Permitted Carry and do not want you to exercise the full extent of your Constitutional Rights without paying additional taxes and fees into a massive governmental bureaucracy.
In a recent NRA-ILA email, they link to their own Summary of the bills and their own “Comprehensive Q&A” file. They are not telling us everything. The NRA says Constitutional Carry does nothing to change those onerous Gun Free School Zone (GFSZ) exclusions. That is incorrect as it specifically eliminates the word “zone” and replaces it with “property.” This clearly means the exclusion zone is gone and you can only be limited on school property (but this would just apply in Wisconsin – no reciprocity on this as there are Federal GFSZ law that are active in other states). With either bill, the Federal 1000 foot GFSZ is going to be a problem.
If you want unabridged freedom to exercise your 2nd Amendment Rights, then you need to call your legislator to show support for Constitutional Carry.
Right now, if you are age 18, you can earn a license to drive a vehicle, buy a vehicle and do both without any special training.
Right now, if you are age 21 and can pass a background check, you can own a gun with no special training.
Right now, if you can own a gun, you can Open Carry without a permit or any special training.
Right now, criminals and thugs illegally carry concealed weapons without a permit or any special training.
Right now, is the time to show Wisconsin can be Progressive and implement Constitutional Carry.
Your Constitutional Rights should not change when you put on a coat. It is imperative that we do not accept a watered-down and politically expedient bill that limits our rights and increases the size and scope of big government.
If you cannot attend one of these public hearings; you need to contact your legislators and request they support the Constitutional Carry bill. The legislature is pitting us against each other to see which bill gets more support. Make sure your voice is heard by calling or emailing your legislator and supporting Constitutional Carry.
Here are the Public Hearings, attend one and promote Constitutional Carry!
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 “Permit Carry” 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 the “Constitutional Carry” and “Permit Carry” bills will be heard)
