Packing Heat
Do you wish you could legally carry a loaded gun in your pocket?
Thanks to Wisconsin Republican legislators, you may soon get your chance. The Joint Finance Committee approved a bill (as amended) November 30 that would allow law-abiding Wisconsin adults to obtain a 5-year license to carry a concealed gun. The bill (AB 763 and SB 403) passed the Committee by 12-2, with all but one Republican supporting it. Governor Doyle intends to veto the bill if it passes both houses of the Legislature.
The bill would prohibit guns in day-care centers, hospitals, and youth-sporting events.
The Constitutitonal aspects of gun-control legislation were examined in our March 15 Glazerbeam (Legal Weapon). Now lets look at the practical aspects of concealed carry legislation.
Would allowing people to carry concealed guns reduce crime?
If so, the bill should become law. Certainly there are some circumstances under which an armed civilian could scare a criminal off or stop him dead in his tracks.(1)
The trouble is that gun-toting civilians may draw and fire on the basis of wrong conclusions, misjudgments, anger, and misunderstanding of the laws regarding use of deadly force. For example, you cannot legally shoot someone trying to steal your car (if no one else is in it).
Even police, who are extensively trained in the legal use of weapons, have made many questionable decisions about shooting people.
There is a good chance that unjustified shootings would exceed the number of crimes prevented.
If you are accosted by an armed robber, are you better off if you are carrying a gun too?
Probably not. The robber knows what he intends to do to you well in advance, and you don't know he's a robber till he points the gun at you. By that time, its too late for you to draw your pistol-----if his gun is loaded and working, you will be shot first. Even if the robber did not intend to physically harm you, once you draw, he has to shoot you.
But if you are armed, might you be able to stop a crime directed at someone else?
Yes, as long the criminal does not see you first. If you could use your weapon to stop a beating, rape, arson, burglary or robbery, you may become a hero in the eyes of the intended victim and your community.
On the other hand, you could also find yourself in a gun-battle for which you are not prepared as well as the criminal.
If you actually shoot somebody, you should expect to be arrested, questioned, and possibly sued. If you accidentally hit an innocent bystander, you are in " deep do-do." Unlike police, civilians who shoot someone are not defended by the city attorney. Good luck.
If Doyle vetoes the bill, will the veto be overriden? If not, why bother to pass it?
The Republicans lack the votes to override Doyle. The expected veto will then become a hot-button issue in the 2006 election.
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(1) For example, a deranged gunman murdered several other passengers on a Long Island commuter train. If even one other passenger had been armed, the gunman would have been "blown-away" after the first shot, thus sparing the lives of subsequent victims.
If train passengers were subject to a weapons search before boarding (like airline passengers), all of the lives could have been saved.
Thanks to Wisconsin Republican legislators, you may soon get your chance. The Joint Finance Committee approved a bill (as amended) November 30 that would allow law-abiding Wisconsin adults to obtain a 5-year license to carry a concealed gun. The bill (AB 763 and SB 403) passed the Committee by 12-2, with all but one Republican supporting it. Governor Doyle intends to veto the bill if it passes both houses of the Legislature.
The bill would prohibit guns in day-care centers, hospitals, and youth-sporting events.
The Constitutitonal aspects of gun-control legislation were examined in our March 15 Glazerbeam (Legal Weapon). Now lets look at the practical aspects of concealed carry legislation.
Would allowing people to carry concealed guns reduce crime?
If so, the bill should become law. Certainly there are some circumstances under which an armed civilian could scare a criminal off or stop him dead in his tracks.(1)
The trouble is that gun-toting civilians may draw and fire on the basis of wrong conclusions, misjudgments, anger, and misunderstanding of the laws regarding use of deadly force. For example, you cannot legally shoot someone trying to steal your car (if no one else is in it).
Even police, who are extensively trained in the legal use of weapons, have made many questionable decisions about shooting people.
There is a good chance that unjustified shootings would exceed the number of crimes prevented.
If you are accosted by an armed robber, are you better off if you are carrying a gun too?
Probably not. The robber knows what he intends to do to you well in advance, and you don't know he's a robber till he points the gun at you. By that time, its too late for you to draw your pistol-----if his gun is loaded and working, you will be shot first. Even if the robber did not intend to physically harm you, once you draw, he has to shoot you.
But if you are armed, might you be able to stop a crime directed at someone else?
Yes, as long the criminal does not see you first. If you could use your weapon to stop a beating, rape, arson, burglary or robbery, you may become a hero in the eyes of the intended victim and your community.
On the other hand, you could also find yourself in a gun-battle for which you are not prepared as well as the criminal.
If you actually shoot somebody, you should expect to be arrested, questioned, and possibly sued. If you accidentally hit an innocent bystander, you are in " deep do-do." Unlike police, civilians who shoot someone are not defended by the city attorney. Good luck.
If Doyle vetoes the bill, will the veto be overriden? If not, why bother to pass it?
The Republicans lack the votes to override Doyle. The expected veto will then become a hot-button issue in the 2006 election.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) For example, a deranged gunman murdered several other passengers on a Long Island commuter train. If even one other passenger had been armed, the gunman would have been "blown-away" after the first shot, thus sparing the lives of subsequent victims.
If train passengers were subject to a weapons search before boarding (like airline passengers), all of the lives could have been saved.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 9:44 AM
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