WI Assembly OKs concealed weapon legislation

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Assembly OKs concealed weapon legislationAssociated PressLast Updated: Feb. 27, 2002Madison - Wisconsin residents who qualify for a permit would be allowed to carry a concealed weapon under legislation the Assembly approved early Wednesday after a weary and sometimes bitterly personal debate.Legislature Editorial: The pre-dawn gun folliesLegislation (pdf): Assembly Bill 675 After more than four hours of debate, lawmakers voted 58-40 to approve the bill that would end the state's 130-year-old ban on concealed weapons.Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, urged lawmakers to reject the bill. She recounted for her colleagues how her parents and five employees of Brown's Chicken and Pasta were killed Jan. 8, 1993, during an apparent robbery at the Palatine, Ill., restaurant.Often on the edge of tears, she said the Legislature should be more concerned with taking guns away from criminals than making it easier for citizens to carry them."This is insane what we're doing," Shilling said. "When will this end? Why is it we need to stoop to the level of those thugs and the bad guys?"The Assembly sent the bill to the Senate. It has to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Scott McCallum to become law.The Assembly unexpectedly took up the bill just before midnight Tuesday after partisan bickering that began mid-afternoon over campaign finance reform and other bills stretched into the night.Usually, a bill must first be approved by a committee before a vote by the full chamber. But the Assembly took the rare move of pulling the bill from a committee to debate it.Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, one of the bill's sponsors, said he was attacked one night outside of the gun shop that he owns by someone with an iron bar. He said having a gun on him might not have stopped that attack. But allowing Wisconsin citizens to carry weapons could make criminals think twice before committing violent acts."There's no doubt this is about law-abiding citizens," Gunderson said. "I think we have to remember that the bad guys won't be the ones going to apply for a permit. The bad guys will still be out there, breaking the law and doing those things that we don't agree with."The debate was edgy at times as it stretched into the early morning and lawmakers' patience wore thin. Opponents continuously criticized Assembly leaders for proceeding with the debate without legislative attorneys and drafters present to help analyze the impact of proposed amendments.Rep. Johnnie Morris-Tatum, D-Milwaukee, said the bill would only lead to more violence in Milwaukee and was critical of the bill's authors because they could not answer some questions about proposed amendments."You seem as clueless about Milwaukee as you do about your own amendments," she said.The bill would allow residents to apply with a county sheriff for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Applicants would have to meet a series of requirements to receive the permit, including being at least 21 years old and being eligible to carry a firearm under federal law.Those with permits would still be banned from carrying concealed weapons in places such as police stations and prisons.Under the bill, a sheriff would have to do a background check on all applicants except police officers.Current law bans the carrying of concealed weapons, which is punishable by a $10,000 fine or nine months in prison. It also bans carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, into a government building or a tavern or a restaurant with a liquor license.Police officers are exempt from those laws.The concealed weapons law has been in effect since 1872 and has been virtually unchanged since 1878, according to the Justice Department. http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/feb02/23584.asp