I hope i have come to the right place.

Let me start out by introducing myself. My name is Jacob and i turned 18 back in February. I have been around firearms all my life and have been looking into becoming a police officer. As i understand it there isn't a way to conceal carry in Wisconsin but you can open carry. However, i am unclear about the details of open carry. I am not looking into this to look cool with a firearm but rather as self defense if the situation ever occurs where i would need to defend myself or my family. Which i am sure is the reason why most everyone considers the open carry. I understand i am 18 and i know there are laws regarding my age and pistols as far as purchasing them but i do not know how that effects my rights to open carry. Any and all information would be much appreciated. If i am on the wrong forum please let me know.

Welcome to OpenCarry.org!!

You came to the right place.

If you pursue a career in policing, please give extra care and attention to the 4th and 5th Amendment. Try not to get sucked into an LEO attitude that they are merely guidelines or rules to be gotten around.

Oh, and watch out for the Blue Wall of Silence. The idea that cops don't rat out other cops for offenses and rights violations.

I understand what you are saying. I have spent a lot of time researching a career of a police officer and have a family member who is a state trooper in Indiana. However that is another topic. Right now i am just trying to hopefully find more information about the open carry law. I have read and found a lot of things on it however i have not seen anything about age except certain things about minors.

HolyOrangeJuice said:

I understand what you are saying. I have spent a lot of time researching a career of a police officer and have a family member who is a state trooper in Indiana. However that is another topic. Right now i am just trying to hopefully find more information about the open carry law. I have read and found a lot of things on it however i have not seen anything about age except certain things about minors.

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Welcome and check out the legal section here:

http://www.wisconsincarry.org/default.html#

Welcome aboard HolyOrangeJuice, you have come to the right place. We have some very intelegent men and women helping out on this forum. To date there are 5 places that you can not carry, State parks, vehicles, government buildings, taverns or restaurants that serve alcohol for consumption and 1000 ft. of a school. Check theses out at www.legis.state.wi.us As your age is concerned I don't believe it is a problem if you own a sidearm. I'm not aware of any reason why you can't oc. assuming your not a fellon. Carry on

Welcome friend! You can check out my sig for WI statutes and case laws.

Welcome Jacob. As the others have stated, get familiar with the law and your rights so you can carry confidently. I think in general society and LEO will demonstrate a little more scrutiny with a younger OC'er, so having the confidence to just go about business as normal without being nervous or edgy would be beneficial. Of course all of that has nothing to do with your right to carry.

Know the law, be courteous, strongly consider a personal voice recorder, bring your friends on board and Carry On.

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Here is a link to an open-carry "primer" brochure. Its the basics of carry-rights in Wisconsin. You'll probably have many more specific questions, but check out that brochure and then ask specific questions here.

I know there are hundreds of newcomers to this web forum in the past week, so the questions you have are likely shared by many and its a good time to have another thread that goes through the basics.

-always transport unloaded and in a case. When you get where you are going, get out of your car, take the gun out of the case, load up, and holster up. When you get back to your car, unholster, unload, and encase your gun BEFORE you get in your car.

-avoid school zones (1000ft from the edge of school property) UNLESS you are on private property.

-do not let your shirt or jacket cover your sidearm

-don't go in government buildings (police station/fire station/library/city hall)

-don't go in a place that SERVES alcohol unless you have permission from the manager/owner (good idea to have written permission) see permission slip here:

http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/carrypermissionsliprev5.pdf

-Don't carry in state parks

-A final place is that it appears you can't carry on some state college campuses as well.

Thank you guys for your help so far. I am currently reading up and watching those lengthy don't talk to police youtube videos that was linked earlier. Before i even considering carrying my firearm i want to be 100% certain of my rights and also might even carry proof on me so no one can tell me otherwise. After i watch and read more if i have further questions i will post here. Again thank you all very much.

bhancock said:

Welcome Jacob. As the others have stated, get familiar with the law and your rights so you can carry confidently. I think in general society and LEO will demonstrate a little more scrutiny with a younger OC'er, so having the confidence to just go about business as normal without being nervous or edgy would be beneficial. Of course all of that has nothing to do with your right to carry.

Know the law, be courteous, strongly consider a personal voice recorder, bring your friends on board and Carry On.

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I am working on getting a better understanding of the laws so when i do decide to open carry i will be able to answer any and all questions if approached by anyone including police officers.

Wisconsin Carry said:

View attachment 4055
http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/carrypermissionsliprev5.pdf

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Would i need to have one of these filled out if i decided to start open carrying and wanted to carry to my local convenience store. I am unclear whether or not it the restriction on alcohol is places that serve and sell it or just places that serve it.

Another thing that i really would like cleared up, i am glad everyone is posting links and i have been reading through them over and over again however i do not see anything about my age. Since you have to be 21 to purchase a pistol and i believe buying ammunition for such pistol you also have to be 21. However that is not an issue for me considering my grandfather passed away recently and left my uncle his .45 that i have shot a ton of ammunition through over the past years and I'm sure my uncle would let me carry it since he doesn't bother with open carry. i just want to be able to read somewhere that i can or cannot. Or if it clearly doesn't state an age i would be happy with that too. Its that minor detail that is holding me up with this.

21 to buy but 18 to posses.
Only establishments that can sell alcohol for consumption on site. For instance, Walmart sells it but you can carry there. This should be in your reading homework assignment... LOL

I gotta go and get the soldering iron out to fix my laptop charger cable....this phone posting is really starting to stink...haha

I searched but couldn't find the statute right off. You can search them yourself here http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll/?f=templates&fn=default.htm

My son is now 20 and buys his ammunition himself, he owns a 9mm which is also used in many popular carbines making it not handgun exclusive. .40 caliber is the same and there may be others as well. He has not been checked but will just say it is for his carbine if he is ever questioned. Of course your uncle could purchase handguns and ammo for you as well, as long as you are not a felon nor committed any crime as a minor for which you were adjudicated, that would have been a felony if you were an adult.

Brass Magnet said:

21 to buy but 18 to posses.
Only establishments that can sell alcohol for consumption on site. For instance, Walmart sells it but you can carry there. This should be in your reading homework assignment... LOL

I gotta go and get the soldering iron out to fix my laptop charger cable....this phone posting is really starting to stink...haha

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It seems to be blocking your cites to statutes and court opinions, too.

bhancock said:

I searched but couldn't find the statute right off. You can search them yourself here http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll/?f=templates&fn=default.htm

My son is now 20 and buys his ammunition himself, he owns a 9mm which is also used in many popular carbines making it not handgun exclusive. .40 caliber is the same and there may be others as well. He has not been checked but will just say it is for his carbine if he is ever questioned. Of course your uncle could purchase handguns and ammo for you as well, as long as you are not a felon nor committed any crime as a minor for which you were adjudicated, that would have been a felony if you were an adult.

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Does your son currently open carry and has he every been asked or questioned about it? Now that i have read more if you are not required to show I.D. to police how would they ever know what age you are and since i have not read anything about age i don't see that as being an issue.

Getting ammunition won't be a problem as i'm going to explain this all to my uncle and hope he is more understanding about it than my mom or grandmother. They are all for guns in the house and stuff which we own many but as soon as i mention about open carry they think it is stupid. However i feel that its better to have something than nothing at all. I'm currently going to join a local shooting range so i can practice a lot. I have already shot tons of rounds through it over the years but it is always good to practice shooting skills.

EDIT:
I also just found this link *summary of federal law, page 1* where it states that a person may not give a pistol or ammunition for such pistol if thought to be under age of 18. So as i read it i must be perfectly fine for open carry if i choose to do so.

Citizen said:

It seems to be blocking your cites to statutes and court opinions, too.

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You noticed that did you? Yeah, It's pretty hard to copy and paste cites when looking at sites between windows on a cell phone

I'm back up and operational now though. A little flux and a couple dabs of solder has fixed my problem and the laptop is able to be fed with juice once again!

Glad to hear it, surfing the web on a phone sucks.

HolyOrangeJuice said:

Glad to hear it, surfing the web on a phone sucks.

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Do you need any cites now or did you find what you were looking for? I'm pretty sure that most of the stuff is in the links others have provided.

Brass Magnet said:

Do you need any cites now or did you find what you were looking for? I'm pretty sure that most of the stuff is in the links others have provided.

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I think i am almost set. I just want to clarify: I at age 18 can open carry a firearm as long as i comply with the 5 areas where you cannot carry (State parks, vehicles, government buildings, taverns or restaurants that serve alcohol for consumption and 1000 ft. of a school zone) and make sure that my firearm is in open view with nothing covering it.

A few questions i still have though. What are the rules of carrying while at work? Is that up to the employer? and also establishments such as walmart, taco bell, & The Store gas station are all places that are okay to carry in?

After those things are confirmed and cleared up i think i am ready to start practicing with my firearm more and open carrying.

My reply in blue.

HolyOrangeJuice said:

I think i am almost set. I just want to clarify: I at age 18 can open carry a firearm as long as i comply with the 5 areas where you cannot carry (State parks, vehicles, government buildings, taverns or restaurants that serve alcohol for consumption and 1000 ft. of a school zone) and make sure that my firearm is in open view with nothing covering it.

IANAL, but I don't see anything wrong with what you wrote. As far as age, I scoured the statutes before this post and couldn't find the correct info, I'm sure you are correct but maybe someone else can provide a cite where you can read it for yourself.

A few questions i still have though. What are the rules of carrying while at work? Is that up to the employer? and also establishments such as walmart, taco bell, & The Store gas station are all places that are okay to carry in?

Carrying on any private property (including your work) is up to the private property owner. Walmart follows state law so since it's legal in Wisconsin, you can OC in Walmart in Wisconsin. I'm not sure about Taco Bell's policy. Even in walmart you may still have problems but they are becoming less and less as store managers get used to it. The important thing to remember is not to get into any arguments while you are on private property and someone asks you to leave. If they ask you to leave, leave. I'd leave anything I have in my cart right there too. In Wisconsin, it is trespass law that controls this.

After those things are confirmed and cleared up i think i am ready to start practicing with my firearm more and open carrying.

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I'd add that when people get kicked out of stores they almost always post it on here. There is a wealth of information on the forum about which retailers allow OC on their property.

I was looking for a place i could read specifically about if i at age 18 could OC. I still haven't found anything that mentions an age except stuff about minors (obviously they can't) As for asking about those stores mainly, i just wanted to know what type of stores i was allowed in with OC. If they did ask me to leave i would willingly do so and not buy from them.

My age and the details about which buildings i can go in is the only thing stopping me right now as far as i can see. Until i can clear those up i will wait to OC.