September
25,2005---Wisconsin State Senator Dave Zien will be introducing
the 2005 Personal Protection Act at the state Capitol on September
29th.
The Personal Protection Act is a shall-issue
concealed weapons carry bill similar to bills that are now law
in 37 other states. (Two states--Alaska and Vermont--do not require
permits, and seven states are "discretionary issue,"
meaning that issuance of a carry permit is at the discretion of
the local sheriff or police chief).
The Personal Protection Act has been introduced
in every legislative session since 1992. Over the past three years,
it has come very close to becoming law.
In 2002, Senator Zien and Representative
Scott Gunderson, the author of the Assembly version of the bill,
had enough votes to pass the bill. It did pass in the assembly,
but then-majority leader of the Senate, Chuck Chvala (D), used
obscure procedural moves to prevent a vote on the bill. The governor
at that time, Scott McCallum, had already indicated he would sign
the bill.
In 2003, the bill passed both the Assembly
and the Senate. Democrat Governor James Doyle then vetoed the
bill. The Senate overrode the governor's veto in January of 2004.
Supporters of the bill felt certain they
had exactly enough votes in the Assembly to override the governor's
veto and make the bill law. At the last minute, however, a prior
supporter of the bill, Representative Gary Sherman (D-Port Wing),
switched sides and voted to sustain the governor's veto.
Representative Sherman had voted for the
bill in 2002, had signed on as a co-sponsor in June of 2003, had
voted for the bill in the Assembly on the first go-round in November
of 2003, and had written extensive articles in his home town newspapers
about why the bill was important. Thus, his "flip-flop"
came as a shock.
This year, with many new Democrat legislators
having been elected to replace those who resigned their seats
last year, supporters of the bill are cautiously optimistic.
"We're extremely confident that we'll
get a veto override in the Senate, " said Richard Baker,
treasurer of the Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association. "But
it's in the Assembly where the numbers are again going to be close."
"Every Republican will vote to override
the veto, and we have solid support amongst four or five Democrat
representatives. The question is whether Democrats who have previously
supported the bill will vote on behalf of their constituents who
want the bill, or will side with the governor."
Wisconsin is one of four states including
Illinois, Nebraska, and Kansas that completely prohibits the carrying
of concealed weapons for anyone other than law enforcement officers.
Those interested in following the progress
of the Personal Protection Act can receive legislative updates
by going to the Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association's website
at http://www.wisconsinconcealedcarry.com
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