Law-Abiding Citizens Allowed Self-Defense Trained, Law-Abiding Citizens to be Licensed to Carry Concealed Weapons
State Senator Dave Zien (R-Wheaton) and Representative Scott Gunderson (R-Town of Norway) are renewing their drive to give law-abiding Wisconsinites the ability to protect themselves and their families. The two are offering the Personal Protection Act (PPA) to allow law-abiding citizens to be licensed to carry a concealed weapon after a criminal background check and safety training. Most states already allow this form of self-defense.
Forty-four states allow some form of concealed carry for self-defense. Thirty-three of those states, representing 54% of the U.S. population, allow a right to carry similar to the Wisconsin proposal or even less restrictive. Vermont allows the right to carry without a license.
The legislators point out the law works by making criminals think twice before committing violent crimes. They note that over 40% of criminals in a scientific prison survey have decided against attacking a citizen they thought might be armed.
"Current law only protects criminals from citizens," said Zien. "The Personal Protection Act will level the playing field for the most common prey of criminals: women, elderly and disabled individuals."
In Wisconsin, only police officers are allowed to carry a concealed weapon. The penalty for illegal carrying is only a misdemeanor, small worry to someone considering rape, murder or armed robbery. So, the current law only prevents people who conscientiously follow the law from defending themselves. The law would give these individuals a strictly regulated means to carry a concealed weapon legally.
“The fact is the nine lowest violent crime rates in the country are in states that have concealed carry laws. These states, that allow individuals to carry concealed firearms, have seen tremendous drops in their rates of homicide, robbery, and aggravated assault,” stated Gunderson. “The statistics have shown that concealed carry laws have worked effectively to help lower violent crime rates by an average of 24%. In a time when we, as a legislature, are trying to figure out how to cope with an ever-growing prison population, a 24 percent drop in the violent crime rate in Wisconsin would be a welcome occurrence.”
Individuals 21 years old or older seeking a license would undergo a state Department of Justice background check to find and root out anyone with a criminal record. This is the same check the Brady Law provides. If it was determined that the person was not a felon, violent criminal, mentally incompetent or drug or alcohol dependent they could receive a tamper-proof, photo license upon paying a fee to cover all costs and proving they had successfully completed a designated gun safety course. The license could be suspended or revoked if the licensee was charged with or convicted of a crime.
“An individual that receives a concealed firearm license will have undergone firearm training, a more extensive background check than the Brady Law requires, and their information will remain on file with the Wisconsin Department of Justice,” contended Gunderson. “I believe all of the safeguards are in place for this to be a success in the state of Wisconsin. We intend to follow the example of states like Florida, where their concealed weapon law has been very successful because of quality training and education. In the state of Florida, there has never been a record of any accident or incident from a lack of training, and that is the level of success we intend for Wisconsin.”
The licensee would not be allowed to carry in a number of places including; taverns, schools, athletic events, police stations, jails, prisons or airports.
Licenses would be issued by Sheriffs who could issue temporary emergency licenses to a person whose life was in danger. Counties could opt out of offering the license or join with other counties to improve efficiency. But, no county could prevent its citizens from having the opportunity to be licensed.
“Wisconsin has a long history of local control,” said Zien. “This law will be administered locally by counties that can choose not to participate in licensing.”
"This is nothing radical. Most states have similar laws that work very well," said Zien. “In fact, not one state has ever revoked a law licensing citizens to carry concealed weapons.”
According to FBI crime data, states allowing concealed carry have a 24% lower violent crime rate, 26% lower homicide rate, 3% lower rape rate, 39% lower robbery rate and a 35% lower firearm robbery rate than restrictive states like Wisconsin.
"We want people to take a good hard look at the facts with an open mind," said Gunderson. "When we get beyond the knee-jerk reactions, people will realize that the evidence shows that most citizens can be trusted to act responsibly. The ones who can't be trusted are usually already armed, and obviously won’t undergo the stringent licensing procedures."
"We are not trying to ram anything through without giving people a chance for a good long look," said Zien. "The more facts are known, the more support we will have."