No guns were drawn, but tensions remained high Tuesday in the state Capitol as Criminal Justice Committee members heard testimony from both opponents and proponents of a bill to end Wisconsin's 130-year concealed weapons ban.
The bill would make it legal for a person to carry a weapon, defined in the bill as a handgun, stungun, tear gas gun, knife other than a switchblade or a billy club. It is currently illegal for a person other than a peace officer to arm themselves with a concealed weapon while in public, although a loophole in the law allows citizens to carry concealed weapons on their own property.
Under the bill, a person must be 21 years old in order to qualify for a license which would last for five years.
Legislators predict the bill will likely reach the governor's desk for approval, may result in another battle between the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. Past attempts to override two of Doyle's vetoes have failed.
\It sounds like it will be vetoed from the discussion ... [but] it's not only Republicans who support the bill,"" said committee member and state Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls.
Hamline University Professor Joe Olson of the Minnesota Citizens Lobbyist Group spoke on behalf of the bill. He referred to Minnesota's own concealed weapons law, which passed last spring.
He stressed that the people who apply for a license are not to be feared.
""We're talking about people who have self-selected themselves for police background checks,"" he said.
Opponents of the bill included University of Wisconsin Police Chief Susan Riseling.
Riseling, testifying to the committee, stated how the average gun-owning citizen is not proficient enough to be trusted with a concealed weapon.
""Police train in making quick decisions-when to shoot and when not to shoot. This bill would turn minor incidents into serious crimes,"" she said.
However, proponents of the bill had their own law enforcement officers on hand to speak for the cause.
Brad Hayes, a former policeman and secret service agent from Berlin, Wis., spoke of turning the tables on criminals.
""There are already a ton of guns out there in the hands of criminals ... [but] there is a fear out there among criminals of an armed citizen response,"" he said.
Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, a proponent of the bill and co-chariman on the committee, assured both sides of the goal.
""We want lives to be saved,"" he said.
