GJD wrote:
You "can" open carry anywhere provided that it is not in a school zone, bar, or government building. But you may very well be detained or arrested for doing so. Kind of an oxymoron. Can but cant.
I open carry when outside on my property, occasionally when I go to local stores. I have been detained, threatened with arrest, and released before.
I would encourage you to excersize your right to carry a firearm for self protection but you should be aware of potential problems. Wisconsin is not a bad place to live other than relations to firearms laws and taxes.
I think some of the above should be clarified. Without special permission (which you are not likely to get) you cannot even
possess a firearm in any school or government building. You
can possess a firearm within a "school zone" provided it is unloaded and encased. A school zone is any place within 1000' feet of the property on which a school sits (K-12 schools). "School zone" does not include private property within that area. Technically one has to have a reason to believe they're in a school zone to get convicted of violating the school zone restriction, but why chance it? Be aware of where the schools are in your community.
You can legally possess a handgun in a place that serves alcohol if it's a private club or public club or in a regular tavern or alcohol-serving restaurant with the permission of the owner. What are the odds of getting that? Of course if you ARE the owner of the bar or restaurant you can legally open carry, you can even conceal carry. There is no restriction on long guns in places that serve alcohol.
You can have firearms in your vehicle, but they must be unload and encased.
Basically you can legally OC in at least 99% of the state, but there are enough areas that are off limits to take some of the fun out of it.