Wisconsin’s Walker signs must-issue carry permits into law On Friday, Governor Scott Walker signed a bill that made Wisconsin the
49th state to allow law-abiding citizens to carry firearms. Walker had
tried to get the bill passed for years while a state legislator, but
his Democratic predecessor, Jim Doyle, and Democrats in the
legislature had stymied those efforts. This time the bill passed with
bipartisan support and allows Wisconsin residents to get permits on a
must-issue basis — meaning that the state cannot deny a permit
application without justifiable cause, such as a felony record:
In one stroke, the legislation takes Wisconsin from being one of the
final pair of remaining holdouts on concealed carry to having one of
the more permissive bills in the country. The proposal, which takes effect Nov. 1, joins other long-sought
measures that Republicans passed this year, including requiring photo
IDs from voters and making health savings accounts tax-exempt. Signing the bill in Rothschild, near Wausau, Walker noted the length
of the fight over the legislation, which he had once also supported as
a lawmaker. “By signing concealed carry into law today we are making Wisconsin
safer for all responsible, law abiding citizens,” he said in a
statement. The measure includes provisions requiring training and permits, which
were sought by both Walker and Democrats. Some Republicans
unsuccessfully pushed “constitutional carry” bills that would have
allowed people to carry concealed guns without permits. Protesters shouted about the threat to public safety facing Wisconsin
residents that has been seen in, er, how many carry states? Zero. In
fact, most states see a decrease in crime after the enactment of such
legislation, as Rep. Cliff Stearns noted in 2009: Allowing law-abiding people to arm themselves offers more than piece
of mind for those individuals — it pays off for everybody through
lower crime rates. Statistics from the FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report
of 2007 show that states with right-to-carry laws have a 30% lower
homicide rate, 46% lower robbery, and 12% lower aggravated assault
rate and a 22% lower overall violent crime rate than do states without
such laws. That is why more and more states have passed
right-to-carry laws over the past decade. In 1987, my home state of Florida enacted a “shall issue” law that has
become the model for other states. Anti-gun groups, politicians and
the news media predicted the new law would lead to vigilante justice
and “Wild West” shootouts on every corner. But since adopting a concealed carry law Florida’s total violent crime
rate has dropped 32% and its homicide rate has dropped 58%.
Floridians, except for criminals, are safer due to this law. And
Florida is not alone. Texas’ violent crime rate has dropped 20% and
homicide rate has dropped 31%, since enactment of its 1996 carry law. Another study makes the moral case for expanding and enhancing
right-to-carry laws. A report by John Lott, Jr. and David Mustard of
the University of Chicago released in 1996 found “that allowing
citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it
appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths.” Further, the
Lott-Mustard study noted, “If those states which did not have
right-to-carry concealed gun provisions had adopted them in 1992,
approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravate
assaults would have been avoided yearly.” Think about it. Nearly 8,000 of our fellow citizens have died between
1992 and 1996 because of the irrational fear that law-abiding
Americans would abuse their right to self defense. In fact concealed
carry permit holders are more law-abiding than the rest of the public.
For example, Florida, which has issued more carry permits than any
state has issued 1.36 million permits, but revoked only 165 (0.01%)
due to gun crimes by permit-holders. John Lott wrote about the dynamics of self-defense in his seminal
book, More Guns Less Crime, which is in its third edition (and is
available on Kindle now, too). Here in Minnesota, opponents also
warned about the return of the Wild Wild West and blood flowing in the
streets, and the scare tactics turned out to be entirely false.
That’s because going through the training process provides a sobering
douse of cold water on gun owners about the realities of using a
firearm for self-defense. My late friend Joel Rosenberg’s excellent
book on the subject Everything You Need to Know About (Legally)
Carrying a Gun in Minnesota and his most recent effort The Carry Book
gave an entertainingly dire warning to those who thought that a carry
permit was the same thing as a Junior Deputy badge. Law-abiding citizens who seek out and receive the necessary training
to get the permit know exactly the stakes involved, which is why
(besides the fact that they were law-abiding in the first place) these
states don’t see increases in crime rates, especially in relation to
permit holders. But having law-abiding citizens carry firearms may be
why criminals suddenly take less interest in victimizing them, which
may well be the reason for the drops in crime seen after adoption of
carry-permit laws. We’ll be celebrating Joel’s life and work at the MOB Day at the Range
this Thursday evening, as well as raising funds for his family. Looks
like we can also celebrate the fact that our neighbors to the east
have won the right to protect themselves, too.
49th state to allow law-abiding citizens to carry firearms. Walker had
tried to get the bill passed for years while a state legislator, but
his Democratic predecessor, Jim Doyle, and Democrats in the
legislature had stymied those efforts. This time the bill passed with
bipartisan support and allows Wisconsin residents to get permits on a
must-issue basis — meaning that the state cannot deny a permit
application without justifiable cause, such as a felony record:
In one stroke, the legislation takes Wisconsin from being one of the
final pair of remaining holdouts on concealed carry to having one of
the more permissive bills in the country. The proposal, which takes effect Nov. 1, joins other long-sought
measures that Republicans passed this year, including requiring photo
IDs from voters and making health savings accounts tax-exempt. Signing the bill in Rothschild, near Wausau, Walker noted the length
of the fight over the legislation, which he had once also supported as
a lawmaker. “By signing concealed carry into law today we are making Wisconsin
safer for all responsible, law abiding citizens,” he said in a
statement. The measure includes provisions requiring training and permits, which
were sought by both Walker and Democrats. Some Republicans
unsuccessfully pushed “constitutional carry” bills that would have
allowed people to carry concealed guns without permits. Protesters shouted about the threat to public safety facing Wisconsin
residents that has been seen in, er, how many carry states? Zero. In
fact, most states see a decrease in crime after the enactment of such
legislation, as Rep. Cliff Stearns noted in 2009: Allowing law-abiding people to arm themselves offers more than piece
of mind for those individuals — it pays off for everybody through
lower crime rates. Statistics from the FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report
of 2007 show that states with right-to-carry laws have a 30% lower
homicide rate, 46% lower robbery, and 12% lower aggravated assault
rate and a 22% lower overall violent crime rate than do states without
such laws. That is why more and more states have passed
right-to-carry laws over the past decade. In 1987, my home state of Florida enacted a “shall issue” law that has
become the model for other states. Anti-gun groups, politicians and
the news media predicted the new law would lead to vigilante justice
and “Wild West” shootouts on every corner. But since adopting a concealed carry law Florida’s total violent crime
rate has dropped 32% and its homicide rate has dropped 58%.
Floridians, except for criminals, are safer due to this law. And
Florida is not alone. Texas’ violent crime rate has dropped 20% and
homicide rate has dropped 31%, since enactment of its 1996 carry law. Another study makes the moral case for expanding and enhancing
right-to-carry laws. A report by John Lott, Jr. and David Mustard of
the University of Chicago released in 1996 found “that allowing
citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it
appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths.” Further, the
Lott-Mustard study noted, “If those states which did not have
right-to-carry concealed gun provisions had adopted them in 1992,
approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravate
assaults would have been avoided yearly.” Think about it. Nearly 8,000 of our fellow citizens have died between
1992 and 1996 because of the irrational fear that law-abiding
Americans would abuse their right to self defense. In fact concealed
carry permit holders are more law-abiding than the rest of the public.
For example, Florida, which has issued more carry permits than any
state has issued 1.36 million permits, but revoked only 165 (0.01%)
due to gun crimes by permit-holders. John Lott wrote about the dynamics of self-defense in his seminal
book, More Guns Less Crime, which is in its third edition (and is
available on Kindle now, too). Here in Minnesota, opponents also
warned about the return of the Wild Wild West and blood flowing in the
streets, and the scare tactics turned out to be entirely false.
That’s because going through the training process provides a sobering
douse of cold water on gun owners about the realities of using a
firearm for self-defense. My late friend Joel Rosenberg’s excellent
book on the subject Everything You Need to Know About (Legally)
Carrying a Gun in Minnesota and his most recent effort The Carry Book
gave an entertainingly dire warning to those who thought that a carry
permit was the same thing as a Junior Deputy badge. Law-abiding citizens who seek out and receive the necessary training
to get the permit know exactly the stakes involved, which is why
(besides the fact that they were law-abiding in the first place) these
states don’t see increases in crime rates, especially in relation to
permit holders. But having law-abiding citizens carry firearms may be
why criminals suddenly take less interest in victimizing them, which
may well be the reason for the drops in crime seen after adoption of
carry-permit laws. We’ll be celebrating Joel’s life and work at the MOB Day at the Range
this Thursday evening, as well as raising funds for his family. Looks
like we can also celebrate the fact that our neighbors to the east
have won the right to protect themselves, too.
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