There's no need to fear lawful carry
Posted: Nov. 2, 2009


Is Concealed Carry a Good Idea?


Daniel Slapczynski: There's no need to fear lawful carry


I admit, it's a bit odd that I'd advocate a concealed-carry law for Wisconsin.

It isn't that I don't support the Second Amendment. On the contrary, I strongly believe it is a constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms, and I have no objection to those who wish to put that right into practice. I'm just not one of those people.

For now, when I think of carrying a weapon, I think back on when I had to call a professional to "fix" my home's smoke detectors. It turned out to be a simple two-minute repair; I'd put all the batteries in backward. Given that example of my mechanical aptitude, it's probably not a good idea for me to walk around with a loaded gun on my person.

The arguments against a concealed-carry law appear to hinge on the belief that most people would not exhibit the same level of forethought and care in making their own decision or show proper restraint while carrying. The overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites certainly would prove them wrong. But of course, someone out there, some gun owner as yet to be revealed, is waiting to be the "I told you so!" of this debate.

Never mind that his or her careless actions would be the rare and horrific exception to the rule. When it comes down to it, how much we fear the "mad but legal gunman" is what will decide if this law becomes reality, not statistics, not constitutional arguments, not cold-hearted truth.

And here's a bit of that truth: If you think enacting a concealed-carry law will unleash a torrent of armed criminals on our streets, think again. At this moment, anyone who wishes to carry a gun - be it for his or her own protection or criminal purposes - is probably already doing so.

I don't think you should change a law just because it's often circumvented. But I know that in my blessedly mellow life, I've run into a good number of people who carried guns - some for protection, some for less noble reasons - and have accepted gunshots in my old neighborhood as par for the course. I'm certain that none of those people cared whether Wisconsin had a concealed-carry law, and that's not going to change, no matter how much we wish it would.

I guarantee it will startle me when I notice the guy in front of me at the gas station is armed. I've had that experience before in another state, and it's certainly disconcerting. But properly licensed and trained citizens who face dire penalties for breaking the law are not the gun owners we have to fear. Not now - and not if concealed carry becomes law.

Community Columnist

IS CONCEALED CARRY A GOOD IDEA? | PEGGY SCHULZ
Public safety must be the top priority
Posted: Nov. 2, 2009


Peggy Schulz: Public safety must be the top priority

Dec. 15 will mark the 218th anniversary of the enactment of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The National Rifle Association and others who want to give Wisconsinites the right to carry concealed weapons often cite the Second Amendment as their justification.

Is it possible to know what motivated the framers of the Constitution? Many constitutional scholars believe the Second Amendment was strictly a means to ensure that individual states could maintain the militias that had been formed at the time of the revolution. The Second Amendment states: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" (emphasis added).

Could the founders of arguably the greatest democracy on Earth really have foreseen that their decision would be used more than 200 years later to justify the proliferation of handguns in American society? I doubt it.

The overall safety of the general public as we move through our lives on a daily basis is - or at least should be - the top priority for lawmakers, both local and national. We live in a fairly well-ordered society, but that order is achieved through a delicate balance of individual rights and the well-being of society as a whole.

Each of us as individuals brings to that equation of public safety our own personal needs, desires and family background. We know from experience that the delicate balance all too frequently is thrown out of whack.

Is it a good idea, for example, to add concealed weapons to the already problematic issue of road rage? When a driver snaps and loses his or her cool, how easy would it be for the driver to pull out a concealed handgun and escalate things further?

And let's think about domestic violence situations, which threaten the very core of our society: the family unit. Is it wise to make it lawful for domestic partners who are at or near the boiling point to arm themselves while out in public, so that when they do boil over, the gun can be used with possibly deadly results?

Throw in overindulgence in alcohol, something our state lawmakers address almost every legislative session, and the mix of concealed weapons, human emotions and intoxication becomes a certain disaster.

Because, let's face it, handguns are intended for one thing and one thing only: to wound and kill people.

Milwaukee's police chief and county district attorney have suggested we, in effect, dangle a concealed-carry law for Wisconsin over the heads of the NRA in order to get it to support a law requiring criminal background checks for all gun purchases, not just those at federally licensed gun stores.

The background check law is a no-brainer. And we shouldn't have to lower our standards on concealed carry to get the too-powerful NRA to support closing a loophole that never should have been left open in the first place.

We live in an increasingly complex, often anxious world of the 21st century, one the founders never could have envisioned. To add concealed weapons to the already tenuous balance of public safety in Wisconsin would be a huge mistake.

Peggy Schulz of Milwaukee is a freelance writer and a single, bus-riding renter. E-mail [email protected]

Quoted:
Wow. Pretty well written by Chief Flynn. I appreciate his honesty in that even though he chooses not to carry, and is a little alarmed when he sees others armed, he realizes those who would seek permits aren't the ones we need to be afraid of.  

Quoted:











That wasn't written by Chief Flynn. I would be pretty worried if the chief of police felt unsafe carrying a gun or changing the batteries in his smoke detectors.