Wisconsin may soon join the list of 33 other states that allow citizens to carry a concealed handgun with a permit. Republicans are moving to introduce a bill that would allow permits to be granted based solely on ta person meeting certain criteria laid out by the law.
State Sen. Pam Galloway, R-Wausau, is drafting a concealed-carry bill to be introduced within the next couple weeks, according to The Journal Times.
""Concealed carry has been pretty high on the GOP agenda for a while,"" UW political science professor Charles Franklin said. ""The big question is what are the provisions by which you obtain a concealed weapon permit.""
Concealed-carry legislation made it through the legislature twice under Gov. Jim Doyle, but he vetoed it both times.
""The bill does not create a single job, help a single Wisconsin citizen, afford health care, or improve schools for a single Wisconsin child,"" Doyle said in a 2006 statement addressing his veto of concealed-carry in the Personal Protection Act. ""The Legislature should spend more time trying to get jobs into our communities instead of more guns.""
""It's an odd situation with law enforcement and Democrats opposing Republicans on a gun issue,"" Franklin said. ""The serious side would be law enforcement in the Milwaukee area, but those sorts of concerns don't seem to matter very much for proponents.""
Wisconsin, Illinois and Washington D.C. are the only states to not allow any private citizen to carry a concealed handgun under any circumstances, although Wisconsin does allow open carry.
