New from Wisconsin Legislative Council

“Carry” Versus “Possession”
The majority of the provisions of the bill relate to restrictions on a person’s ability to “carry” a firearm. The bill defines “carrying” a firearm to mean to “go armed with” a firearm. The phrase “go armed with,” as it would relate to a firearm, has been defined by the Wisconsin courts to mean that the firearm was on the individual’s person or was within the individual’s reach and the individual was aware of the presence of the firearm. However, Wisconsin courts generally do not treat having an unloaded and encased firearm within one’s reach as “going armed with” the firearm.3

3 For instance, in State v. Walls, 190 Wis. 2d 65 (Ct. App. 1994), the Court of Appeals recognized that the placement, possession, or transportation of unloaded and encased firearms in vehicles as permitted by § 167.31 (2) (b), Stats., does not constitute going armed with a concealed weapon.

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phred said:

Carrying and Possessing Firearms in Wisconsin

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lc/publications/im/IM2011_10.pdf

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Does the bill allow me to place, possess, or transport a loaded, unencased handgun in a vehicle?

As described above, the bill does allow the placement, possession, and transportation of handguns in a number of different types of vehicles, regardless of whether a person is a licensee. However, if a person is not a licensee, the handgun cannot be concealed in the vehicle and, as noted above, Wisconsin courts have taken a broad view of what constitutes the concealment of a firearm in a vehicle.

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drewdown said:

There is quite a little 'gotcha' at the very end of that memo:

It's just a matter of time before some agency decides to jam someone up for carrying a concealed weapon for OC'ing in a car without a permit.

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drewdown said:

There is quite a little 'gotcha' at the very end of that memo:

Does the bill allow me to place, possess, or transport a loaded, unencased handgun in a vehicle?

As described above, the bill does allow the placement, possession, and transportation of handguns in a number of different types of vehicles, regardless of whether a person is a licensee. However, if a person is not a licensee, the handgun cannot be concealed in the vehicle and, as noted above, Wisconsin courts have taken a broad view of what constitutes the concealment of a firearm in a vehicle.

Click to expand...

It's just a matter of time before some agency decides to jam someone up for carrying a concealed weapon for OC'ing in a car without a permit.

Click to expand...