Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin residents who qualify for a permit would be allowed to carry a concealed weapon under legislation the Assembly debated early Wednesday.
The proposal would end the state’s 130-year-old ban on concealed weapons.
The Assembly took the rare move of pulling the bill from a committee to debate it late Tuesday after hours of contentious debate on campaign finance reform and other bills.
Usually, a bill must first be approved by a committee before a vote by the full chamber.
The bill would create a procedure to apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon with a county sheriff. Those with permits would still be banned from carrying concealed weapons in places such as police stations and prisons.
Current law bans the carrying of concealed weapons, 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.
Under the bill, a county sheriff would have to issue a permit to carry a concealed weapon as long as the applicant met a series of requirements, including that they are at least 21 years old and are eligible to carry a firearm under federal law.
A sheriff would have to do a background check on all applicants except police officers.