Monday, January 28, 2013
Area law enforcement officials respond to Milwaukee County Sheriff's message about gun owners fighting back and "simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option."
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s personal safety message, which called on Milwaukee County gun owners to “fight back” and take a certified gun safety course, started a media firestorm as Clarke appeared on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The inquiries came after Clarke issued the following public service announcement: I’m Sheriff David Clarke, and I want to talk to you about something personal…your safety. It’s no longer a spectator sport; I need you in the game, but are you ready? With officers laid-off and furloughed, simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back; but are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in …
Monday, January 7, 2013
State's new conceal carry law and Sandy Hook school shooting prompts increase in calls to background check hotline, newspaper reports.
When Wisconsin's conceal carry law took effect in November 2011, gun sales in the state jumped. And the trend continued throughout 2012, according to reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Dec. 27 story reported the background check hotline for handgun purchases has handled 60 percent more calls in 2012 over 2011. At that time, the newspaper reported, "the hotline handled 132,940 calls. For all of 2011, it received 88,895 calls." Part of that number, the Journal Sentinel reported, was a spike in interest in buying guns after the Sandy Hook school shooting, when more than 2,000 additional calls went to the hotline in the week after the shooting compared to the week before. In November, the JS reported on the steady boost in gun …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The number of background checks for gun sales reported has skyrocketed in Colorado since the "Dark Knight Rises" shootings, as victims' families continue to mourn and police investigations are ongoing.
People across the nation have responded to the Aurora shooting on Friday by heading to their local gun shop, and Wisconsin residents seem to be following that trend. Between Monday and Wednesday, Wisconsin Department of Justice Communications Officer Dana Brueck said the state has received 1,333 applications for conceal carry permits. That's compared to 1,366 applications received between Monday and Friday of last week, just before the shooting occurred. The state's concealed carry law went into effect on Nov. 1; Brueck said, it has averaged about 300 applications a day " for some time." This week's pace is so far just under 450 permits applied for daily. The number of background checks reported for gun purchases skyrocketed in Colorado …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Gun laws in the country are aiming in the opposite direction and lives are being lost as a result.
The recent shootings of Bo Morrison of West Bend, WI and Trayvon Martin of Sanford, FL have certainly sparked all kinds of outrage and are bringing about some much needed conversation. Morrison, 20, and Martin, 17 were both African American boys who were legally shot to death according to state laws. One factor many are focusing on is race. Were these shootings racially motivated? Were these hate crimes shrouded by right winged laws? Were the shooters innately racist? Most of us will never truly know the answers to these questions. The people who know the shooters, Adam Kind and George Zimmerman, may have a better idea of the men’s true intentions. But right now, all we can do is speculate. And while we cannot say it is certain that these …
Monday, January 16, 2012
The huge increase in permit applications has the state sweating bullets trying to process applications on time.
According to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is now at least four days behind in completing background checks and processing applications for gun permits. Handgun sales have increased to an overwhelming volume since the passing of the new conceal carry law on November 1, 2011. There is a law which states that applications are to be processed within 21 days, but the state fell behind on December 30, 2011. You can read the full story HERE.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wisconsin gets armed as Conceal Carry Law takes effect.
As Wisconsin becomes a conceal carry state, officials with the Wisconsin Department of Justice are working overtime to meet state deadlines. Handgun licenses have soared by 50 percent, within weeks about 56,000 or roughly one percent of the state's population will have a conceal carry licenses, and the state's handgun hotline has been ringing off the hook, according to an article in the Journal Sentinel. As of Dec. 11, a total of 24,821 people had had permits approved by the state and only a small number - 296 people - have been denied, according to new DOJ statistics. The article highlighted one Greendale man, Jeff Szymanski, who said he got his license in about 33 days, but he didn't expect to use it. To read the full story, click here.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Patch talked to Jane Witt, chair-elect of the Democratic Party of Racine County, and then to State Sen. Van Wanggaard so he could respond.
The effort to recall State Sen. Van Wanggaard started with the Budget Repair Bill, but it was only the beginning. According to Jane Witt, chair-elect of the Democratic Party of Racine County, Wanggaard's adherence to Governor Scott Walker's agenda ignores the real needs of residents in the 21st State Senate Distict. "Senator Wanggaard is not paying attention to the needs of his district or listening to his constituents," she said. While his vote for Act 10, the Budget Repair Bill, certainly got the ball rolling, Witt said Wanggard's support for Voter ID, Conceal Carry and school choice have only strengthened the need to recall him. "How he could support legislation like school choice that hurts the children in his district I just don't …
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Francois Ross had hunted most of his life and he thought he knew how to handle a gun. But when he decided to carry a concealed weapon, a gun safety instructor made him think twice. Now he's teaching others to do the same.
Want to see more stories about this topic? "Like" this article on Facebook by clicking the "like" button just above this article. If we get 10 or more likes, we'll know to do a follow-up story. The National Rifle Association trains their gun safety instructors to focus on knowledge, skills and attitude when they teach people how to carry and use their weapons. Francois Ross, of Glendale, also teaches those elements to his students as a certified NRA instructor when he teaches his classes on personal protection in the home and pistol shooting at the Racine County Line Rifle Club. But in his Carrying Concealed Weapons class, he'll stress the importance of attitude a little more. On Nov. 1, people wanting to carry a concealed weapon can apply…
42.84123
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Racine County Line Rifle Club
8922 Rifle Range Rd, Racine, WI
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Friday, October 28, 2011
New guidelines spell out some additional restrictions.
State workers, for the most part, will be able to conceal carry as of Nov. 1 in most state buildings, but with a few new exceptions. According to the Associated Press, new guidelines from Governor Scott Walker's office outline where state workers can and can't conceal carry a permitted weapon. In additon to schools, police stations, mental institutions, prisons and court houses, weapons will be prohibited in the Capitol building's police station and the State Supreme Court courtroom. Employees who work in the state Capitol building, however, can conceal carry in other areas of the facility. In areas controlled by the legislature, the lawmakers craft the policy and so far, Senate and Assembly Republicans say they are allowing conceal carry …
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Have gun, will carry -- but not so fast.
The conceal carry law will go into effect in a few weeks, but there may be some tinkering done to the rules surrounding the permit process. According to a Journal Sentinel article, Gov. Scott Walker OK'd a four-hour training requirement people would need to complete before they receive a permit. The provision hasn't gone over well with officials with the National Rifle Association. The rules were made temporarily until the Wisconsin Department of Justice can finalize the permanent rules in December. Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action told Patrick Marley, a Journal Sentinel reporter, that "We are frankly disappointed with the grudging attitude (the Department of Justice) has taken toward this law…
GearHead
7:47 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
People uncomfortable with guns probably shouldn't own them. The rest of your straw argument is just silly. Where is your evidence of cookie-selling kids being accidentally shot? more ›