Hello from Milwaukee

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I've owned weapons all my life. I was born in and have lived most of my life in Wisconsin. I currenty live in Milwaukee near 40th and Wisconsin ave. Most of my range time is at Badger Ammo on 43rd and Lincoln ave. I am ashamed to live in one of only two States that have no form of concealed carry. I think Wisconsinites are in a unique situation as our Governor has vetoed bills allowing CC in Wisconsin and has told us to wear our weapons on our hips, which would get us arrested.

I've been reading this forum for the past month or so and decided its time to ask some questions.


Is it your goal to make OC legal in the State of Wisconsin? I know that it is suppose to be legal, but we all know if you OC in most citys in Wisconsin you will be arrested, charged and lose your firearm.

Is the push for OC in Wisconsin from you an attemp to force the CC issue?

I was amazed to find like minded people from Wisconsin here. Except for the people I shoot with, I thought I was the only Wisconsinite who felt my rights were being violated. I am very happy to have found this forum.

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Welcome Dead!

OC is legal, any arrest would be illegal.

I personally have long supported OC as a means to pressure CC, but I believe OC is valuable in itself and not simply as a means to reach another end. My goal would be to see unlicensed OC and CC throughout the country.

I'm not sure it's quite accurate to say you'd be arrested and have your gun confiscated in most Wisconsin cities, because we have too little information to go on and few people who practice OC at this time. I've OC'ed in a few municipalities without any problems, including Madison. On the other hand I've had conflicting opinions offered by members of the Madison Police, ranging from (to paraphrase) "you'll automatically be charged with disorderly conduct" to "merely carrying a legal weapon won't result in an arrest, but we prefer not to have to deal with all the calls that might come in as people see you."

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Speaking for myself...

OC is entirely legal. It is my goal to force the LEAs from extra-legal harassment. If you will read Wisconsin law - http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/stats.html - you will note no mention of per se open carry but of only where and how one may not have a gun.

Mandatory CC is an infringement. Mandatory and permitted/licensed CC is like any other registration scheme.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to another operative in Milwaukee. Please update your city and state of residence.

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Once an official statement from the Attorney General Van Hollen comes out telling police departments to shove it regarding DC then any LEOs are free to assess the situation as they see it. And currently many of them see it wrong depending on the circumstances.

Many LEOs think OC becomes DC when somebody calls. By that logic, I could call about an on-duty LEO walking around my neighborhood OCing and tell the operator I'm scared. So then another cop must show up to contact the cop I saw and threaten him with DC or illegally take his weapon? This will never happen, yet somehow its different for a citizen who's carrying? I can smell BS, and I say this is rank. I think this is an excellent point to bring up to an officer if you are being detained.

When us sheepdogs take to the streets lawfully carrying, the scared sheep will be calling their legislators day and night to pass a permit system to allow us sheepdogs to hide our guns. Though most of us on the site prefer vermont-style carry including me, it is not realistic in this state and if we hold out for it I don't think we'll get anywhere.

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Welcome to the forum Dreadscott. As you have probably already read there are sometimes very lively exchanges on this forum. That is what makes it an excellent forum. It is only through sharing information and debating that information that the facts and truth prevail. There are many intelligent and knowledgable forum members and, to be sure, we don't always agree in detail but we are unified in our goal to see OC universally recognized in the Law Enforcement community. Our problem is not state constitutional law or state statues. Our number one problem is, pure and simple, police power and utter disregard by law enforcement of our personal constitutional rights and the State Supreme Court. In other words "inspite of all things the wolves must keep the sheep coralled.

First off. state laws do not describe what a person can do. State laws exist only for the purpose of limiting personal freedom and rights. You will not find a State Statute that says we have the right to visibly carry a firearm for personal protection, but, there is also no state statute that says visible carry of firearms is prohibited. Therefore, visible carry of firearms is not unlawful. The only statute that exists which prohibits the manner of carry of weapons affects only the carry of concealed weapons.

There are only four statute restrictions on carry of firearms in Wisconsin. A place that serves on sale alcohol, within 1000 feet of a grade 1 through 12 school, in a vehicle, inside a goverment building. Those statutes themselves are testimony that open carry is not unlawful. The prohibition of concealed carry is absolute. If open carry was also prohibited there would be no need for the restrictions.

I have been a FFL holder for many years. One of the responsibilities is that I have to have a working knowledge of the firearm laws of all fifty states. Our firearm freedoms in Wisconsin rival nearly all other states. The only peculiarity is that they must be exercised with "open carry" firearms. Therein lies part of our problem. Because of hype and involvement by some local and national gun rights groups, concealed carry has become synounymous with firearm freedom. Wisconsin does not embrace concealed carry, therefore in the eyes of those groups, and unfortunately too many people that listen to them, Wisconsin is considered a "maverick" with no provision for people to carry firearms for personal protection. That of course is not true. We have the constitutional right to open carry firearms for that purpose.

If the truth be told the preemtion statute 66.0409, the constitutional amendment Article I section 25 and the Supreme Court decision in Hamdan have played pivotal roles in establishing our Wisconsin firearm freedom. Unfortunately each of those activities have taken place very recently, 1995, 1998 and 2003 repectively. They have contrasted with a 150 year attitude by law enforcement that except for hunting and certain recreational activities only the cops shoud be able to carry firearms. That attitude is so deeply ingrained in law enforcement that law enforcement feels justified in thumbing it's nose at the new statutes and the Supreme Court itself. That is our challenge. Find a way to get LE to acknowledge our constitutional right to excercise the activities in Article I section 25 by using visible weapons. The disdain for our firearm rights is not voiced by all in law enforcement. The State Patrol has acknowledged them and we have members on this forum that recognize those rights. Some State Sheriff offices are also on board but there is a long way to go.

My position:

My open carry firearm rights are not for barter. I will not give up my open carry rights for some permitted, regulated, and highly restricted privilege to conceal carry. If some one wants to promote concealed carry as an personally elected option to open carry, an option that would give a person the privilege to carry a concealed weapon subject to training, regulation and untold restrictions, I would not object. My open carry rights must be untouched by such an option.

Not everyone on the forum shares my opinion but that is what makes the forum interesting. Welcome, and I'm looking forward to reading your contributuions.

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I'll echo what Lammie said-- we don't always agree, but we do share common goals. I like to play devil's advocate to stimulate thought, although that's not always necessary, since we have so many varied opinions as it is. But we respect other opinions, even if it's not evident when we get a little heated. But I believe it's important to hear all sides, and if nobody else is attacking your beliefs, then you need to attack them yourself!

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Lammie wrote:

There are only four statute restrictions on carry of firearms in Wisconsin. A place that serves on sale alcohol, within 1000 feet of a grade 1 through 12 school, in a vehicle, inside a goverment building.

Click to expand...

Should make some of those a bit clearer...

1. A place that _sells_ alcohol for on-site consumption. A liquor store is not prohibited.


2. Within 1000' of the _property limits_ of a school that teaches one or more grades 1-12.

3. In or ON a vehicle (ie bicycle is included)

4. Building owned by the government. There's some question / efforts to determine exactly what that statute means. One would logically expect it to mean courthouses, congressional chambers and the like...but on its face it would include restrooms at highway rest areas for example. The statute refers to "any building that is owned or leased by the state or any political subdivision thereof"...Which also means any city/state owned public housing would be off limits..

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Wow lots of research to do. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. A lot to ponder.

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Welcome. Take a look at the thread: HELP CREATE A LETTER TO GOV. OFFICIALS. To me the right to bear arms is being infringed on since 2A is now an individual right. There is a conflict between Constitution and statute, rules and regulations. The more you dig, the more you will find that judges are legislating from the bench and don't honor their oath.

We have the right to "bear" arms so I would like OC for summer and CC for winter without the permit BS. No infringements of any type.....here we are, people that obey the law and the law is against us.