WI: Kremer Pushes Campus, Constitutional Carry for 2017

Wisconsin has made incremental progress in restoring the right to keep and bear arms in the last few years.  Representative Jesse Kremer has been an active Second Amendment supporter in the legislature. He was re-elected in the 2016 presidential year.  The state has built on the Constitutional amendment passed in 1998, with 74% of the vote.

The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose

Representative Kremer seems to believe that the amendment, now Article 1, Section 25 of the Wisconsin state constitution, means what it says.

Wisconsin passed Act 35, a good shall issue law in 2011. Improvements to Act 35 have been made, reducing the cost and making application and renewal possible online. The legislature removed the silly 48 hour waiting period that Wisconsin required for handgun purchases from federal firearms licensees. Last year, Wisconsin removed state restrictions on the carry of knives by non-felo

Kremer has introduced gun related reforms for the 2017 session. They include removing some restrictions on school carry and campus carry for people with concealed carry permits, and a bill to remove the requirement of a permit for most concealed carry.  That would place Wisconsin in the permitless or "constitutional carry" group, which currently has 11 states as members, and Puerto Rico, if a current court ruling there holds. From madison.com:

On the Wisconsin Gun Owners website, Kremer has included his own petition for supporters of the measure.

Kremer confirmed that the proposal is one of several pro-gun initiatives he plans to introduce early in the coming legislative session. He’s also working with other Republican lawmakers on introducing a “constitutional carry” law, which would allow anyone who can legally own a firearm to carry it without a permit. He said the permit process would still be in place so that gun owners could carry their firearms in states with reciprocity agreements. A permit also would likely be required to carry a firearm on campus, he said.

Representative Kremer recently appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio, defending his objectives.  Here is a link to archived WPR program:

WPR show on School and Campus Carry

In the University of Wisconsin student newspaper, the Daily Cardinal, Kremer is quoted about the positive effects of campus carry.  
From The Daily Cardinal:

Kremer said both parties are working to make college campuses safer but argued that college students who are of legal concealed carry age should have the same rights as those who are the same age but not in college.

“I feel we need to be proactive for a bill like this where we provide protection and prevent crime around our college campuses,” he said.

Kremer told The Daily Cardinal last week that he plans on reintroducing a campus carry bill next session, although he said it may not be rolled out immediately at the beginning of the next legislative session in January.

Wisconsin has suffered from a lack of strong Second Amendment leadership in the legislature since Senator Pam Galloway resigned in March of 2012, for health reasons in her family. Galloway had been instrumental in passing Act 35, one of the most successful shall issue permit laws, in 2011.  The legislature seems primed to pass significant reforms, but leadership on the issue has been lacking.

Representative Kremer may emerge as the Second Amendment legislative leader that has been missing in Wisconsin.


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