Alphecca

Gun Rights in Wisconsin

Wow! A newspaper in Wisconsin actually comes out in favor of passing a bill to allow concealed-carry. From the Janesville Gazette:

We believe the legislation has merit for two key reasons.

First, we agree with Republican authors Rep. Scott Gunderson of Waterford and Sen. Dave Zien of Eau Claire that criminals would be less likely to attack or rob people if they knew some of them might have guns.

Second, Wisconsin's Constitution seemingly grants us the right to carry guns. In 1998, voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that states, "The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose."

However, we object to a provision to keep permit holders secret. Zien and Gunderson said making that information public has led police in other states to unfairly target permit holders in criminal investigations. Speaking of rhetoric, Zien called those situations a "holocaust."

The public should have the right to know who has a permit, even if criminals also could get that information. A law officer stopping a car should be able to check on whether the owner has a permit.

Secondly, why does the public have "a right to know" what their neighbors have in their possession? Should they know that I have a condom in my wallet? An overdue electric bill? A pacemaker?

And yes, the criminals could also use that information to target NON-permit holders, increasing the risk of attack on those citizens who are not comfortable owning or carrying a firearm.

So half of the editorial is right, the other half wrong. Oh well, when a pig flies, you don't blame it for not staying up in the air too long...