Wisconsinites seeking concealed carry permits will not have to complete a four-hour-long training requirement after a legislative committee ruling Monday.
The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules suspended Department of Justice rules that would have required those seeking concealed carry permits to complete the training.
They also suspended the requirement that program instructors need eight hours of training before being able to teach a course on gun safety.
The suspensions apply to the new state law that went into effect Nov. 1 allowing citizens above the age of 21 to obtain a permit to carry concealed weapons.
The National Rifle Association previously said in a letter they were concerned the DOJ was placing too many restrictions on the law, including the four hour training requirement.
But Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said at the JCRAR meeting the DOJ found four hours is the minimum amount of time for a comprehensive firearms safety training course.
The standards adopted in the DOJ’s emergency rule fulfill the legislatures’ intent to have a training requirement in the law, while creating among the “most flexible and liberal training requirements in the nation,” Van Hollen said.
Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said that by suspending the requirements, the JCRAR “followed the lead of 33 other states that do not specify a required number of hours for training.”
“Instead [they] decided to trust the judgment of our law abiding citizens to choose the training course that best fits their needs,” Suder said in a statement.
Suder said those seeking permits still need to pass a background check and receive training.
“For those that say today’s actions somehow gutted the training requirements for obtaining permits, nothing could be further from the truth,” Suder said.
But State Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau, said the ruling is evidence Republicans are out of touch with people’s concerns.
“Suspending these requirements is an abuse of power that will endanger the lives of Wisconsinites across our state,” Seidel said.
