Wisconsin Legislature Passes Bill to Repeal Concealed Carry Ban
Madison, Wisc. (CNSNews.com) - After nearly 12 hours of debate on some 70 amendments, the Wisconsin State Assembly early Thursday passed the bill that would repeal the state's longstanding ban on concealed weapons.Under the legislation, people 21 and older who complete gun safety training and pay $113 for a five-year permit would be allowed to carry concealed weapons.
The Republican-controlled Assembly voted 64-35 in favor of Senate Bill 214, which also passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 24-8 vote on Oct. 24.
The Assembly adopted one amendment dealing with funding, training and exemptions, and that will require the bill's return to the Senate next week for consideration of that change. Then the legislation will be sent to Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat who repeatedly and publicly has pledged to veto the bill.
An attempt to override the veto likely, but for the override to be successful, the 99-member Assembly would need to find two more votes for the required two-thirds majority.
"People should have the ability to protect themselves, and I don't think 45 other states can be wrong," said Assembly Speaker John Gard (R), who owns three guns but says he would not seek a concealed weapon permit should the bill become law.
But Democrat Rep. Jennifer Shilling, whose parents were among the 7 people shot and killed by two teens in the family's northern Illinois restaurant in 1993, pleaded with colleagues to defeat the legislation. She said her colleagues should be proud that Wisconsin is one of 5 states without concealed weapons laws.
"This is a dangerous and crazy path that we are about to go down," Shilling said, adding her parents did not believe in the policy of more guns means less crime. "Will this be the vote that you look back and regret? I urge you to vote your conscience."
The vote advancing the legislation took place before 3 a.m. CST, following weeks of emotional debate. The bill was first introduced on July 22, after the State Supreme Court on July 15 overturned the concealed weapon conviction of a Milwaukee grocer who was robbed several times in 1999.
Five years ago, Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment granting citizens the right to keep and bear arms for the purposes of recreation, hunting, defense and other lawful reasons.
"Basically, the Supreme Court has stated that with Wisconsin's Right to Keep and Bear Arms constitutional amendment, the Legislature should look at creating a permitting system for individuals to carry a concealed weapon," said Rep. Scott Gunderson when the bill was introduced last summer. Gunderson, a Republican, represents communities in the state's southeastern corner,
A similar bill passed the state Assembly last session, but stalled in the Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats. The right to carry a concealed weapon has been debated in the State Legislature for years, but this is the first time the proposal has made it through both chambers.
The issue was the subject of numerous polls, including a recent Badger Poll, which showed the bill is opposed by 69 percent of state residents. That poll was discounted by some of the bill supporters, however, who said the questions were skewed to get a certain response.
In addition to strong opposition by the Democratic representatives of Milwaukee, the bill also is opposed by numerous law enforcement groups, including the Wisconsin Police Chiefs Association, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and the Wisconsin county sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. "People are scared," Democrat Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee said. "We have way too much violence in this state."
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz came to the Capitol Wednesday, to join representatives of law enforcement and citizen groups opposed to the repeal of the state's prohibition on carrying a concealed weapon. "This is easily the most irresponsible, most ludicrous piece of legislation that has come before this Legislature in as long as I can remember," said the mayor, also a former legislative aide. "More guns will not make us safer - quite the opposite," he said.
Cieslewicz blasted the bill as a reflection of an inability to act. "They don't want to search for any real answers to the problem of crime... No legislator in their right mind will vote for it."
Gunderson, a victim of violent crime himself, said he was doing the right thing by voting for the bill. "Forty-five states in this great union have this law," he said. And Rep. Garey Bies, a Republican from Sister Bay who has 30 years of law enforcement work, called it "a reasonable bill. It won't get carried to extremes."
Madison Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan called the legislation another display of a Legislature focused on "god, gays and guns, not jobs, economic development and health care. "Last week, we took care of the gays. This week the guns. And god help us if we keep going at this rate," he said, referring to the Senate bill defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
That bill was passed by the Assembly 68-29 last month and by the Senate, 22-10, Wednesday. Gov. Doyle is expected to veto that bill as well.