In the last few years, Wisconsin has made a lot of progress restoring the right to keep and bear arms. The Eat Cheese or Die state has built on the Constitutional amendment it passed in 1998, with 74 percent of the vote. “The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose,” the text reads.
In 2011 Wisconsin passed Act 35, a shall-issue law. Since then, the legislature has made improvements to the Act, reducing the cost and putting concealed carry applications and renewals online. The legislature also removed the 48-hour waiting period Wisconsin required for handgun purchases from federal firearms licensees.
Representative Jesse Kremer is one of those who seems to believe that Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment, now Article 1, Section 25 of the Wisconsin state constitution, means what it says. He’s introduced gun-related reforms for the 2017 session, including eliminating the requirement of a permit for concealed carry. If the bill makes it to Governor Walker’s desk, Wisconsin will join the permitless or “constitutional carry” club, with 11 member states as members and Puerto Rico (if a current court ruling there holds).
Representative Kremer also wants to mandate campus carry — with a permit. (He recently defended his objectives on Wisconsin Public Radio.) In the University of Wisconsin student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal, Kremer extolled the virtues of campus carry:
Kremer said both parties are working to make college campuses safer but argued that college students who are of legal concealed carry age should have the same rights as those who are the same age but not in college.
“I feel we need to be proactive for a bill like this where we provide protection and prevent crime around our college campuses,” he said.
Wisconsin has suffered from a lack of strong Second Amendment leadership in the legislature since Senator Pam Galloway resigned in March of 2012. Galloway had been instrumental in passing Act 35, one of the most successful shall issue permit laws, in 2011. The legislature seems primed to pass significant reforms, but leadership on the issue has been lacking. Representative Kremer may emerge as the Second Amendment legislative leader that Wisconsin needs.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
![By Larry Keane President Joe Biden traveled to New York City for a media event to try and show America he’s doing something about rampant crime. Instead, he blamed the Second Amendment and lawful gun owners, said nothing about holding criminals to account and repeated the same tired lies about the firearm industry he keeps at the ready – lies “fact-checked” as being false each time he’s previously recited them. It makes no difference to the president. He’s not even trying anymore. To President Biden and national gun control groups the problem is always the gun and the law-abiding members of the industry. It’s never the criminal. Blaming the ‘Resistance’ President Biden was joined by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams for a “Gun Violence Strategies Partnership” meeting to talk about how to solve the crime surge, particularly those involving firearms. Instead of real solutions, the focus devolved into blaming law-abiding gun owners and again pushing a gun control agenda. “Enough is enough,” President Biden said. “Because we know we can do things about this, but for the resistance, we’re getting from some sectors of the government and the Congress and the state legislatures, and the organizational structures out there.” That “resistance” the president spoke of is the American people. Over the past two years they’ve become fed up with police defunding policies and soft-on-crime prosecutors, like Manhattan’s Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They’ve invested in their own safety. The “resistance” is the 21 million lawful gun buyers in 2020, including more than 8.4 million first-time buyers, and the 18.5 million gun buyers in 2021, with more than 5.4 million first-timers. The ”resistance” has backstopped Congress from passing federal gun control that don’t address crime. It also stopped President Biden’s nominations of paid gun control lobbyist David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and banking activist Saule Omarova as Comptroller of the Currency because not even all U.S. Senate Democrats could support them. They would have turned those agencies into bludgeons to hammer the firearm industry to achieve a special interest, gun control agenda. Favorite Falsehoods The president turned his aim from lawful gun owners towards the firearm industry and repeated a lie he’s rehearsed several times before. “Imagine had we had a liabil… [sic] they’re the only industry in America that is exempted from being able to be sued by the public. Only one,” the president protested. “Why the gun manufacturers?… It’s got to end. They’ve got to be held responsible for the things they do that are irresponsible.” He repeated the claim for emphasis. “And I find that outrageous.” This is flatly false. The president knows by now, or his speechwriters do and they don’t bother with the facts. CNN, Politicfact and Washington Post have all checked President Biden on his remark, including after he said it in the White House Rose Garden. CNN cleanly rebuked it. “This is false. Gun manufacturers are not entirely exempt from being sued, nor are they only industry with some liability protections.” Politifact rated it “false.” Washington Post wasn’t kinder, saying, “Biden is wrong to claim the gun industry is totally immune.” The firearm industry has liability protections under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), bipartisan legislation enacted under former President George W. Bush. The firearm industry cannot be held liable when unaffiliated third-parties, in this case criminals, misuse a legal, lawfully sold product. It’s fundamental tort law and is similar to an individual attempting to hold Ford and Budweiser responsible for drunk driving deaths. The law was passed in direct response to lawsuits filed against the industry by control groups and municipalities like the city of New York and the state of New York. These type of lawsuit continue to be filed, now even by foreign governments represented by the same gun control group, the Brady Center. Colonial-Era Error President Biden continued to ignore facts on the Second Amendment and its history. He even erred when speaking about the Revolution-era days and why the right to keep and bear arms was so sacrosanct. “When the amendment was passed, it didn’t say anybody could own a gun and any kind of gun and any kind of weapon,” President Biden remarked. “You couldn’t buy a cannon, and when – the – when this, uh, this amendment was passed.” It did, and does, say the right of the People “shall not be infringed.” Even The Washington Post was brutal in their assignment of “Four Pinocchio’s” to this statement. “Biden has already been fact-checked on this claim — and it’s been deemed false. We have no idea where he conjured up this notion about a ban on cannon ownership in the early days of the Republic, but he needs to stop making this claim.” In fact, the Constitution of early America – before the Bill of Rights, and Second Amendment, was even ratified – granted and encouraged “special waivers” to American merchants and sailors, “allowing private individuals to act as pirates on behalf of the United States against countries engaged in war with it.” Americans given waivers and who owned warships obviously also obtained cannons for use in battle. In fact, it is still perfectly legal to buy a cannon today. It is the presidents’ fundamental misunderstanding and blatant lying about the Second Amendment that informs his gun control agenda and misguided approach to solving the crime problem. Millions of law-abiding Americans took ownership of their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves, understanding the president won’t. Instead of mangling the meaning of the right and pushing for more gun control on law-abiding Americans, the president should keep it simple. Take on the criminals and punish them for breaking the law.](https://cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/download-26-218x150.jpeg "Harris is a Human Disinformation Campaign When It Comes to Guns")
If you thought the pearl clutching in Austin, TX was bad when campus carry was passed, wait ’till you see what happens in Madison, WI. They will absolutely wet their pants.
Indeed they will. Madison’s commie-crackheads were pushing “herstory” and “womyn’s studies” back in the 90s when I decided I’d had enough of that town. Outside of Madison, it’s a completely different state.
Agreed, I went to college in Wisconsin (but not at Univ of Wisconsin) and it’s a beautiful state with lots of great people- outside of 2-3 counties.
Constitutional Carry there would be fantastic.
I’ve really wanted to organize an open carry 5k/10k in downtown Madison and call it “Running and Gunning”. It would “trigger” so many SJW’s and carrying on university grounds is already legal.
Yes, do that! I’m only 25 minutes North of Madison, I know tons of potg that would come down for an open carry 5K around here.
http://www.wisn.com/article/uw-madison-students-to-carry-sex-toys-to-protest-gun-bill/8537067
And the reaction from the students are to open carry their dildos. Really glad I didn’t end up choosing this or going back to Milwaukee for graduate school. Though I am all for campus carry, doubtful it’ll happen in St. Louis.
I would love to see it pass.
However, Wisconsin votes blue in a LOT of elections and I cannot see them having enough votes to pass constitutional carry. I couldn’t even believe it when they passed concealed carry.
Wisconsin was rather late to the party on CC, weren’t they?
At least they didn’t wait for their CC law to be overturned by a court, like Illinois.
And the reason that Wisconsin was so late to licensed concealed carry: because the people of Wisconsin kept electing governors (especially Democrats) over and over who opposed concealed carry.
Like I said, Wisconsin has a pretty consistent track record of voting Democrats (or RINOs) and that is why I suspect they will not enough supports/votes for constitutional concealed carry.
Heck, in the last 10 years, their alleged constitutional open carry was utterly a no-go almost everywhere. Why would constitutional concealed carry be okay?
In case you haven’t noticed, Scott Walker has turned Wisconsin red. And the only people who use RINO are the actual RINOs.
Look at Wisconsin, michigan and other midwest states since ’10, many are turning red. WI and Michigan are right to work, that’s HUGE.
Hopw it passes there and also hope we see it in many other states come next year.
You still need a permit under the new bill and you still have to pay $40. So nothing has changed other than the need to have some form of training. Or did I miss something?
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