WI:New Rules For CCW Instruction, Wisconsin Carry Challenges AG

When Wisconsin passed its Shall Issue concealed carry law in 2011, there was strong support for constitutional carry. As a result, Act 35, the Wisconsin Law, is one of the most advanced shall issue laws in the nation. It offers multiple means to meet the required the training requirement required. Here are the relevant portions of the law:

(4) Training requirements. (a) The proof of training requirement under sub. (7) (e) may be met by any of the following:

1. A copy of a document, or an affidavit from an instructor or organization that conducted the course or program, that indicates the individual completed any of the following:

a. The hunter education program established under s. 29.591 or a substantially similar program that is established by another state, country, or province and that is recognized by the department of natural resources.

b. A firearms safety or training course that is conducted by a national or state organization that certifies firearms instructors.

c. A firearms safety or training course that is available to the public and is offered by a law enforcement agency or, if the course is taught by an instructor who is certified by a national or state organization that certifies firearms instructors or by the department, by a technical college, a college or a university, a private or public institution or organization, or a firearms training school.

d. A firearms safety or training course that is offered to law enforcement officers or to owners and employees of licensed private detective and security agencies.

e. A firearms safety or training course that is conducted by a firearms instructor who is certified by a national or state organization that certifies firearms instructors or who is certified by the department.

2. Documentation that the individual completed military, law enforcement, or security training that gave the individual experience with firearms that is substantially equivalent to a course or program under subd. 1.

3. A current or expired license, or a photocopy of a current or expired license, that the individual holds or has held that indicates that the individual is licensed or has been licensed to carry a firearm in this state or in another state or in a county or municipality of this state or of another state unless the license has been revoked for cause.

4. Documentation of completion of small arms training while serving in the U.S. armed forces, reserves, or national guard as demonstrated by an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions or a certificate of completion of basic training with a service record of successful completion of small arms training and certification.

(b) 1. The department shall certify instructors for the purposes of par. (a) 1. c. and e. and shall maintain a list of instructors that it certifies. To be certified by the department as an instructor, a person must meet all of the following criteria:

a. Be qualified under sub. (3) to carry a concealed weapon.

b. Be able to demonstrate the ability and knowledge required for providing firearms safety and training.

2. The department may not require firing live ammunition to meet the training requirements under par. (a).

The state created emergency rules after the law was passed, pending creation of permanent rules to implement the law. Several versions of permanent rules were proposed, with objections raised to each, as they tended to make the training requirements more restrictive.

During this period, Wisconsin Carry, inc., offered numerous free classes to meet the training requirement. These classes concentrated on basic safety rules and the law, and were given in lecture format. As many as two or three hundred students were trained at one time.

The permanent rules were announced on the first of June. One change from the emergency rules is that class size is limited to 50 students per instructor. This limit seems to be aimed specifically at Wisconsin Carry, inc., and the free training they offer as a public service.

It is clear that instructors that are charging $100 or $200 for training to meet the Wisconsin training requirements have an incentive to have this rule included in the permanent rules. How much they may have lobbied for it is uncertain.

Wisconsin Carry, inc. has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General J.B. Van Horn, alleging that the DOJ has exceeded the authority that it was given under Act 35.

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