Lammie
Campaign Veteran
imported post
It's interesting how some laws get convoluted over time. Wisconsin statute 941.23 for example.
Statute 941.23 is the statute that prohibits the concealed carry of any dangerous weapon by other than a peace officer. When the law was passed more than 130 years ago it was not passed in an effort to ban the carry of firearms and other dangerous weapons. It was passed to only prohibit the carry of concealed weapons. It was passed in the interest of providing some measure of public and law enforcement safety.
Before the measure was passed Law enforcement and the general public had no way of knowing if a person was armed or not armed. With the passage of 941.23 there was some measure of presumption that if a person was not carrying a visible weapon the person was unarmed. That of course was not an absolute assurance but it tipped the scales in that direction.
Today our liberal politicians, law enforcement community and of course the anti-gunners would like everyone to believe that 941.23 acts in the interest of providing an overall prohibition of any manner of carry of firearms in the State.
Not so. Even our State Supreme Court, Governor and State Attorney general acknowledge that visible carry is not unlawful. It riles me that whenever the law enforcement community is addressed with the open carry issue the most common response is that open carry is not illegal, but if we do so we subject ourselves to be charged as a public nuisance or for disturbing the peace. It bugs me that even our own sister forum, Packing.org echoes that same opinion. It appears the law enforcement community does this in the hopes of scaring us into complying with their personal agenda. Don't they read the State pre-emption statute. The statute that specifically applies to firearms. It says in language that even a sixth grader can understand that if a firearm activity is not unlawful at the state level it can not be made unlawful at the local level. The only exception is ordinances that prohibit or control firearm activity that were in effect prior to 1995 can remain in effect.
It's interesting how some laws get convoluted over time. Wisconsin statute 941.23 for example.
Statute 941.23 is the statute that prohibits the concealed carry of any dangerous weapon by other than a peace officer. When the law was passed more than 130 years ago it was not passed in an effort to ban the carry of firearms and other dangerous weapons. It was passed to only prohibit the carry of concealed weapons. It was passed in the interest of providing some measure of public and law enforcement safety.
Before the measure was passed Law enforcement and the general public had no way of knowing if a person was armed or not armed. With the passage of 941.23 there was some measure of presumption that if a person was not carrying a visible weapon the person was unarmed. That of course was not an absolute assurance but it tipped the scales in that direction.
Today our liberal politicians, law enforcement community and of course the anti-gunners would like everyone to believe that 941.23 acts in the interest of providing an overall prohibition of any manner of carry of firearms in the State.
Not so. Even our State Supreme Court, Governor and State Attorney general acknowledge that visible carry is not unlawful. It riles me that whenever the law enforcement community is addressed with the open carry issue the most common response is that open carry is not illegal, but if we do so we subject ourselves to be charged as a public nuisance or for disturbing the peace. It bugs me that even our own sister forum, Packing.org echoes that same opinion. It appears the law enforcement community does this in the hopes of scaring us into complying with their personal agenda. Don't they read the State pre-emption statute. The statute that specifically applies to firearms. It says in language that even a sixth grader can understand that if a firearm activity is not unlawful at the state level it can not be made unlawful at the local level. The only exception is ordinances that prohibit or control firearm activity that were in effect prior to 1995 can remain in effect.