Curious about your reasons for Open Carry.... in Wisconsin

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Hello.

I am brand new to OpenCarry.org.... I live in Southeastern Wisconsin.

For years I have been highly irritated by the fact that Wisconsin does not allow Concealed Carry. I believe Concealed Carry would allow us to even the odds against the growing number of violent crimes we have experienced (especially in the Milwaukee Metro area).

I am intrigued by the recent show of support in our state for Open Carry.... hence my question: I'm curious as to the eventual expected outcome of these demonstrations of Open Carry in Wisconsin. How many people are using it as a bridge to eventually getting Concealed Carry passed? And how many really believe Open Carry is all we need?

I'm interested in anyone's opinions/ideas/concerns on both Concealed and Open Carry in Wisconsin. I personally believe Concealed Carry is a better option: I would rather keep a low profile while still being legally allowed to have a means of protecting myself.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

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Open carry is never "all we need", since it is treated as a privilege, not a right. If you have to ask permission to bear arms, you don't really have that right.

Open carry in WI may indeed be a bridge to CC. If Gov. Doyle is foolish enough to try to shut down OC while CC is still illegal, there will be no legal way for you to carry (bear arms) at all, which would make your gun laws unconstitutional, since your state constitution makes it very clear that the citizens have the right to bear arms. It will be important for Wisconsinites to avoid being scammed by anti-gun politicians, who might try to craft a very restrictive CC law, with provisions that with CC there would be "no need" for OC anymore. As I said in my first paragraph, this would be giving up your rights. OC is the baseline; CC can be a gratifying add-on to your freedom to defend yoursleves from criminals. This is the time to hold firm to the freedoms you have and push hard to get what you rightly deserve.

CC isn't necessarily the better option. It depends on your own comfort level and the tactics that are best in a given situation. Read some of the material in this website about "why open carry" to get a better perspective on this.

Welcome to OCDO!

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Dutch Uncle wrote:

If Gov. Doyle is foolish enough to try to shut down OC while CC is still illegal, there will be no legal way for you to carry (bear arms) at all, which would make your gun laws unconstitutional, since your state constitution makes it very clear that the citizens have the right to bear arms.

Welcome to OCDO!

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Thanks....

I can proudly say that I didn't vote for Doyle. I don't honestly see anything good happening regarding any type of gun carry in our state as long as he's still in charge.

That said, I do hope that the efforts on all fronts continue to educate people in our state to their rights. We're big on hunting, but many people are still "freaked out" by the sight of a handgun on someone other than law enforcement. The area from Milwaukee to the Illinois border is the area with the highest violent crime rates in the state, yet also the area most disturbed by the Open Carry efforts.

Being one of only two states banned from Concealed Carry is downright embarrassing (as if our citizens aren't trusted to be responsible).

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I am verypleased the the last versionof Wisconsins CCW (Known as PPA, or the Personal Protection Act) got vetoed by the bald-headed fartof a governor in WI.
It was so chopped-up andfrankensteined so it would have a chance at passing, that we would have lost leeway on when and where we could defend ourselves over what we already had, and currently have.
Basically, It was too restrictive!

I am all for gettingcarry concealed in Wisconsin, But only if it does not change our abilities to open-carry. I do not want "One or the Other" I want the option to practice either at my discretion. Summertime comes to mind! if it is near 100 degrees with 99% humidity, I do not want to have to choose, "DoI carry and wear extra clothing to hide my firearm, or do I go without?"

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I live on the other border next to MN and work in Minneapolis. I have a MN carry permit which allows me to carry. One difference between MN and WI is MN has no RKBA provision in it's constitution which allows MN to require training and certification before a person can carry whether open or concealed. As it stands in WI no permit or training is needed which allows people of limited income the same ability to defend themselves from predators the middle class and wealthy have and after all who is more likely to need to defend against a mugger or rapist, middle class me in a town of 5,000 or a single mom in one of Milwaukee's poorer neighborhoods? She may not have the 250 bucks I shelled out when I got my MN permit.
In fact a common technique of gun banners in America is to drive the cost of firearms out of the reach of poor people, it was used during reconstruction after the civil war and cheap guns were a focus of the 1968 GCA as was making the process of buying and selling guns more complicated. Chicago's draconian gun laws are another example. All were constructed to disarm an portion of the citizenry.
When a government starts charging a fee and providing a little wallet sized laminated card to allow you to do something it is no longer a right but a privilege and one that can be revoked any time they choose.
I am becoming a fan of VE or AK style carry laws.

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Welcome to OCDO!!!

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Hey guys. I'm new to opencarry.com, too, but there's a good site you should check out if you don't already know about it.

wisconsinconcealedcarry.com

Go check it out. Right now, there's not much going on, but the more support when things get moving, the better.

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Kay Nine wrote:

Hello.

I am brand new to OpenCarry.org.... I live in Southeastern Wisconsin.

For years I have been highly irritated by the fact that Wisconsin does not allow Concealed Carry. I believe Concealed Carry would allow us to even the odds against the growing number of violent crimes we have experienced (especially in the Milwaukee Metro area).

Right now you already have Open carry available to even the odds against the criminals and it may do a better job than CC. With OC the bad Guys know that you are armed and are less likely to assault you or someone near you. WE call this the "Deterant factor". With CC, they don't know and will execute their assault, causing you to have toreact.

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I'm interested in anyone's opinions/ideas/concerns on both Concealed and Open Carry in Wisconsin. I personally believe Concealed Carry is a better option: I would rather keep a low profile while still being legally allowed to have a means of protecting myself.

I personally preffer OC, butI can CC if I want to. OC for everyone worked well back in the old days, when CC was frowned upon as being "dishonest". The crime rates "percapita" were much lower than they are today.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

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Welcome to the OCDO forums.