Wednesday - June 15, 2011

Wisconsin Joins The Wave

The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow concealed weapons in the state Capitol and other public places, but not in police stations, courthouse and other specifically exempted locations.

The final vote was 25-8, with all 19 Republicans and six Democrats supporting it, and the other eight Democrats opposed.

Wisconsin would become the 49th state to legalize carrying hidden guns. Those who want to carry the weapons would have to obtain a permit.

Before the bill goes to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who backs the measure, it must also pass the Assembly. That could happen later in the week.

Republicans said the measure will help people take control over their own safety, particularly since there are felons who obtain guns even though they’re not supposed to have them.

“This is about allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves,” said Rich Zipperer, R-Pewaukee.

Naturally the Dems are saying it won’t work, blah blah blah. But it seems they have gone silent on the “Wild West” angle, especially out there in the wild west.

Good for Wisconsin, which already allows permit free open carry.

The article is a little bit wrong on the practical end of things. While only 1 remaining state - Illinois - and Washington DC specifically outlaw concealed carry, several other states are “may issue” states, which in practice means that only special people - very rich, politically connected, or buddies with the local sheriff - get carry permits. The rest of the citizens can go scratch. Hawaii and New Jersey are two states that do this, California does it to some extent, and Maryland, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have “may issue” on the books but don’t use it as much. New York is it’s own world, where even a permit to own a firearm is not valid in New York City, and carrying a concealed handgun is only legal when involved in certain activities specified by the permit applicant. Like hiking or jogging, which in theory can be done anywhere while wearing any kind of footwear other than pumps and dress shoes.

The bottom line is that “shall issue” or “unrestricted” CCW is the law of the land in at least 41 of the 50 states, and soon it will be 42. Many of these states have reciprocity agreements with other states, based on U.S. Constitution’s “full faith and credit” provision. Unfortunately, the federal government came up with their weasel worded (and not yet declared unconstitutional) Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995, which makes legal reciprocal carry in suburban and urban areas almost impossible. Not to be completely stymied by the feds, a good number of states are willing to issue in-state CCW permits to out of state residents that already hold CCW permits for the state they reside in. It’s a dirty game, but the Forces of Darkness are slowly losing.

A number of states have legalized open carry, which means a gun on your hip in a holster, just like the cops. And the police in some of those states are finally learning that such a thing is legal, although this is taking some time.

So the Second Amendment is doing pretty well in the USA. Everywhere except New Jersey and Illinois.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/15/2011 at 02:38 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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