The Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association is using political donations to help reintroduce the Personal Protection Act, commonly known as the “conceal and carry” law, to the state legislature.
Dick Baker, treasurer of the Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association, said the group is giving donations to legislative candidates who are in support of a bill introduced last year by Sen. Dave Zien, R-Wheaton.
Zien said his bill, the Personal Protection Act, “would allow law-abiding citizens, who receive extensive training and background checks, to carry a weapon.”
The bill was killed by Sen. Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, in April after passing through the Assembly.
Opponents of the bill argue that it might cause more shoot-outs and that police would be more at risk.
Baker said killing the bill is punishing the wrong people and that the people who get these licenses “generally aren’t the people that commit the crimes.”
A study done at Yale University showed states that have concealed-carry laws have a reduced crime rate.
For now, it is unclear what the fate of the bill will be. However, the Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association has given contributions to the Zien campaign and continues to distribute literature about the proposal in hopes that it will get passed after the next election.
“We have contributed to Dave Zien, author of the Senate bill, as well as three other campaigns,” Baker said. “We’ve been distributing literature for about a year. This [bill] isn’t anything new. Wisconsin is in a distinct minority.”
Baker said the bill might be introduced again after the upcoming elections and has a chance to be passed if the Republicans win two more seats in the Senate.
Baker said Wisconsin is one of only six states that do not have this sort of law.
Libertarian candidate Ed Thompson supports the proposed bill, and Democratic candidate Jim Doyle opposes it.
An article in The Capital Times stated that McCallum promises to sign the bill if it is put on his desk.
There are more than one million gun owners in Wisconsin, with approximately 100,000 NRA members in the state, The Capital Times said.
Since former governor Tommy Thompson resigned and the election is just around the corner in November, the issue of gun control has been a topic on voters’ minds.
The bill has recently come under attack in a television ad sponsored by the Independent Citizens for Democracy. Zien said the ad implies that the proposal would allow guns in places where they are currently banned.
“When I drafted the bill, I worked closely with our non-partisan legal team to make sure my proposal had the same components as successful concealed laws in the other states,” Zien said.
The Independent Citizens for Democracy is currently being investigated in concurrence with Madison’s caucus scandal and was unavailable for comment.
The Independent Citizens for Democracy group is the second-highest independent-expenditure group in the state.
Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said it has been watching the Independent Citizens for Democracy group for illegal activities.
“[It runs] individual campaigns across the state. [It runs] very negative ads attacking an opponent, and [it has] obviously targeted Dave Zien.” McCabe said.
