Doug Huffman
Banned
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/97680129.html
Carrying a concealed weapon is now legal in Wisconsin - at least in one county of the state.
Jackson County District Attorney Gerald R. Fox has declared that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this week that the Second Amendment clearly applies to the states, he will no longer prosecute people for carrying concealed weapons, or certain other gun related offenses.
The high court's ruling in McDonald vs. Chicago, "immediately renders some of Wisconsin's current laws unconstitutional," Fox said in a news release. Therefore, he said, his office won't take any cases police might refer that are solely about violations of concealed carry, uncased or loaded weapons in vehicles, guns in public buildings or where alcohol is sold or served. Nor will Fox prosecute the possession of switchblade and other types of easy-opening knives.
Fox said he will still "vigorously enforce" laws against the unlawful use of firearms, such as being a felon with a gun, or intoxicated with a gun, using a gun to commit a crime or handling a gun in a negligent manner.
"Only by the strictest adherence to firearm safety rules and common sense will we show that the elitists who seek to disarm all of us are wrong, and that every law abiding citizen can be trusted to protect themselves and their neighbors safely."
Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two states that do not issued concealed carry permits.
Fox was in court Friday and unavailable for comment, his office assistant said.
His announcement wasn't going over too well with some law enforcement officials in Jackson County.
Black River Falls Police Chief Don Gilberg said he didn't think Fox's position was very well thought out, and not good public policy.
"When something's dumb, it's just dumb," Gilberg said.
Gilberg said his department will continue to issue citations under city ordinances and seize weapons from people who may think that they can now carry concealed weapons in Black River Falls with impunity.
Gilberg said he, too, applauded the decision in McDonald vs. Chicago, but didn't believe its intent was to "allow a Wild West atmosphere in our cities and towns."
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said he's not really surprised that some district attorney would take this approach, because he fully expected the outcome in the McDonald case.
"But I think the proper forum to resolve this is in the courts and Legislature," Chisholm said. "Until then, the only responsible course of action is to enforce the laws."
Chisholm backed a proposal to make concealed carry legal after training, background checks and a permit process, but that would also then make carrying without the permit a felony, not the misdemeanor it is now.
The proposed law would have also required all guns sales to anyone but a relative to go through licensed brokers and would make straw purchase arrangements that get guns to felons a state felony.
Fox's policy falls within his discretion as the elected district attorney, said a spokesman for state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who said the office had no comment about Fox's position.
Notably absent from Fox's announcement was any mention of the law that makes it a felony to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. A gun rights advocacy group, Wisconsin Carry Inc., and some individuals have challenged the constitutionality of that law earlier this year in federal court. They claim the 1,000 foot perimeter is generally impossible to determine, and that in populous areas like Milwaukee County, there are so many schools that the overlapping zones would effectively prohibit someone from carrying a gun at all.
"I think it had to be an oversight," said Nik Clark, president of Wisconsin Carry.
"We totally support what he said. But if it doesn't include school zones, then it's all meaningless."
The McDonald case challenged Chicago's ban on handguns. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court reversed a ruling that had upheld the ban, and sent the case back for a lower court to issue the final decision.
The majority opinion assured that "reasonable regulations" of firearms will be upheld, such as restrictions on gun possession by felons and the mentally ill and bans on guns in schools and government buildings.
Carrying a concealed weapon is now legal in Wisconsin - at least in one county of the state.
Jackson County District Attorney Gerald R. Fox has declared that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this week that the Second Amendment clearly applies to the states, he will no longer prosecute people for carrying concealed weapons, or certain other gun related offenses.
The high court's ruling in McDonald vs. Chicago, "immediately renders some of Wisconsin's current laws unconstitutional," Fox said in a news release. Therefore, he said, his office won't take any cases police might refer that are solely about violations of concealed carry, uncased or loaded weapons in vehicles, guns in public buildings or where alcohol is sold or served. Nor will Fox prosecute the possession of switchblade and other types of easy-opening knives.
Fox said he will still "vigorously enforce" laws against the unlawful use of firearms, such as being a felon with a gun, or intoxicated with a gun, using a gun to commit a crime or handling a gun in a negligent manner.
"Only by the strictest adherence to firearm safety rules and common sense will we show that the elitists who seek to disarm all of us are wrong, and that every law abiding citizen can be trusted to protect themselves and their neighbors safely."
Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two states that do not issued concealed carry permits.
Fox was in court Friday and unavailable for comment, his office assistant said.
His announcement wasn't going over too well with some law enforcement officials in Jackson County.
Black River Falls Police Chief Don Gilberg said he didn't think Fox's position was very well thought out, and not good public policy.
"When something's dumb, it's just dumb," Gilberg said.
Gilberg said his department will continue to issue citations under city ordinances and seize weapons from people who may think that they can now carry concealed weapons in Black River Falls with impunity.
Gilberg said he, too, applauded the decision in McDonald vs. Chicago, but didn't believe its intent was to "allow a Wild West atmosphere in our cities and towns."
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said he's not really surprised that some district attorney would take this approach, because he fully expected the outcome in the McDonald case.
"But I think the proper forum to resolve this is in the courts and Legislature," Chisholm said. "Until then, the only responsible course of action is to enforce the laws."
Chisholm backed a proposal to make concealed carry legal after training, background checks and a permit process, but that would also then make carrying without the permit a felony, not the misdemeanor it is now.
The proposed law would have also required all guns sales to anyone but a relative to go through licensed brokers and would make straw purchase arrangements that get guns to felons a state felony.
Fox's policy falls within his discretion as the elected district attorney, said a spokesman for state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who said the office had no comment about Fox's position.
Notably absent from Fox's announcement was any mention of the law that makes it a felony to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. A gun rights advocacy group, Wisconsin Carry Inc., and some individuals have challenged the constitutionality of that law earlier this year in federal court. They claim the 1,000 foot perimeter is generally impossible to determine, and that in populous areas like Milwaukee County, there are so many schools that the overlapping zones would effectively prohibit someone from carrying a gun at all.
"I think it had to be an oversight," said Nik Clark, president of Wisconsin Carry.
"We totally support what he said. But if it doesn't include school zones, then it's all meaningless."
The McDonald case challenged Chicago's ban on handguns. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court reversed a ruling that had upheld the ban, and sent the case back for a lower court to issue the final decision.
The majority opinion assured that "reasonable regulations" of firearms will be upheld, such as restrictions on gun possession by felons and the mentally ill and bans on guns in schools and government buildings.
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