WI: Wisconsin Reaches 300,000 permits in Five Years; Homicide rate lower than Japan

Wisconsin started issuing concealed carry permits in November of 2011 In the last 53 months, they have issued 300,000 concealed carry permits.  The permit holders have been exceptionally law abiding.  Only one permit holder has been convicted of manslaughter when carrying a handgun under the provisions of the permit.  He plead self defense, but a jury ruled it manslaughter.  That is a homicide rate lower than that of Japan!

The average number for 2012 was over 105,000.  The average for 2013 was 175,000, and 223,000 for 2014, and 260,000 for 2015.  In the first four full years of the permit system, one permit holder has been convicted of an unjustified homicide.  I do not know of any homicide cases that are pending.  One unjustified homicide for  over 750,000 permit-years calculates to an annual homicide rate of less than .19 per 100,000 per year.  It is similar to the rate for permit holders in Minnesota. 

According to the FBI, the Wisconsin homicide rate for 2012 was 3.0, and 2.8 for 2013, and 2.9 for 2014. The Wisconsin permit holders homicide rate is about 6.6% of the homicide rate for the state.   The inference is clear.  If you want to be safe, stay with a Wisconsin permit holder!

From wisn.com:

Wisconsin's Department of Justice has issued 300,000 concealed carry permits since the law went into effect in 2011.

The department says concealed carry applications have been at record high levels in recent months and the high interest shows no sign of subsiding. According to a news release, the department's Crime Information Bureau has processed more than 19,500 concealed carry applications since the start of this year alone, putting it on track to far outpace last year's 45,500 applications.

 Part of the success of the Wisconsin permit system is that it does not require fingerprints or pictures. It uses the existing electronic background check system available to all police to check permit applications.  It has a wide variety of options to meet the training requirements.  The cost of the permit has been reduced from the original $50 to $40.  It could drop further.  Wisconsin law requires that permit revenues not be substantially higher than the administrative costs of the program.  In a press release, the AG said that he was proud of the program's success.

Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement that Wisconsin has always had a rich tradition of firearms ownership and he's proud to help citizens exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Wisconsin permit holders have been involved in numerous cases of self defence and the defense of others.  One of the more famous cases occured during an attempt at an armed robbery in a Milwaukee barbershop.


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