Wisconsin’s Personal Protection Act (Concealed Carry Law)

1. Wisconsin’s Personal Protection Act (Concealed Carry Law) • On July 8, 2011, Governor Walker signed a bill that permits properly licensed individuals to carry concealed weapons. • 2011 Wisconsin Act 35 became effective on November 1, 2011. • As of September 10, 2012: • 140,527 applications year to date • 128,689 permits issued; • 3,327 permits denied; • 177 permits revoked • 70 permits suspended • 46 permits cancelled

2. What the Law Does… • Authorizes properly licensed individuals to carry concealed weapons; • Expands possession of weapons in vehicles; • With permit, may be concealed • Without permit, may be loaded and unencased • Grants immunity for allowing concealed carry; • Immunity related to the “decision” to allow • Not clear how far this extends along the “chain of causation” • Prohibits employment discrimination against licensees with respect to conduct in their own motor vehicles.

3. What the Law Does Not Do… • Eliminate existing law regarding open carry; • Expand the right of self defense/defense of others; • Preclude businesses from prohibiting weapons in their buildings, or on their premises; • Prohibit employers from limiting the carrying of concealed weapons in the course of employment; • Grant absolute immunity for allowing concealed carry; • Create strict liability for prohibiting concealed carry.

4. Licensure Requirements • Wis. Stat. § 175.60(2g)(a): A licensee or an out-of-state licensee may carry a concealed weapon anywhere in this state except as provided under subs. (15m) and (16) and ss. 943.13(1m)(c) and 948.605(2)(b)1r. • Employment Restrictions. § 175.60(15m) • Locations Prohibited Automatically. § 175.60(16) • Locations Prohibited Conditionally. § 943.13(1m)(c) • On the Grounds of a School. § 948.605(2)(b)1r

5. Licensure Requirements, cont. • To be eligible for a license a person must be: • A Wisconsin resident; • 21 years of age or older; • Not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law; • Not ordered as a condition of bail or release in a criminal case from possessing a dangerous weapon; • Complete required/approved firearms training.

6. Legal Issues: Criminal Law • Regulates who can get a license. • Regulates concealed carry without a license. • Regulates where concealed weapons are prohibited: • Law enforcement stations (police, sheriff, hwy patrol, DOJ); • Correctional facilities; • Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Wisconsin Resource Center, or any secured unit or secured portion of a mental health institution, including a facility designated as the Maximum Security Facility at the Mendota Mental Health Institute; • Court (county, state, federal; municipal when in session); and • Beyond security checkpoints in airports. (Penalty: $500 fine and/or imprisonment up to 30 days.)

7. Legal Issues: Criminal Law, cont. • Regulates when concealed weapons may be used. • Self Defense/Defense of Others: • Wis. Stat. § 939.48. • State v. Hampton, 207 Wis. 2d 367, 380-81, 558 N.W.2d 884 (Ct. App. 1996) (Subjective & Objective): • Objective: “the defendant must actually believe he or she was preventing or terminating an unlawful interference;” • Subjective: “the belief must be reasonable [as] judged from the position of ‘a person of ordinary intelligence and prudence’ in the same situation as the defendant, not of a person identical to the defendant placed in the same situation as the defendant.“

8. Legal Issues: Property Law • Regulates where/how firearms/weapons may be prohibited. • Wis. Stat. § 943.13(1m)(c): It is a Class B forfeiture to enter or remain on property while carrying a firearm after being notified not to do so. • Limited exception for personal motor vehicles. • Notification requires proper signage. • Law was motivated to address concealed carry. • Law does not repeal existing open carry rights. • “Proper” signage means: • Appropriate size and location • More than just “weapons” • Not just “concealed”

9. Legal Issues: Negligence Law • Regulates whether an owner/occupant/employer will be liable towards others with respect to weapons. • Required Elements: Duty, Breach, Cause, Harm. “A defendant's duty is established when it can be said that it was foreseeable that his act or omission to act may cause harm to someone. A party is negligent when he commits an act [or an omission to act] when some harm to someone is foreseeable.” • Invitees (guests, customers, vendors): Owner owes alternative duty of either having premises in reasonably safe condition or of giving invitees adequate and timely warning of latent and concealed perils which are known to owner but not to invitees.

10. Legal Issues: Negligence Law, cont. • Immunity, Wis. Stat. § 175.60(21): • “A person that does not prohibit an individual from carrying a concealed weapon on property that the person owns or occupies is immune from any liability arising from its decision.” • “An employer that does not prohibit one or more employees from carrying a concealed weapon . . . is immune from any liability arising from its decision.” • NOTE: these are not absolutes: • Allowing weapons does not grant absolute immunity; • Prohibit weapons does not create strict liability.

11. Areas to Regulate • Premises (non-parking areas) and Buildings: • Can prohibit weapons and firearms with proper “notification:” • Standard Premises and Buildings: • Signs at least 5” x 7”; • At all reasonable access points/entrances; • Providing notice of restriction (be careful). • Penalty is criminal trespass.

12. Areas to Regulate • Customer, Vendor, and Guest Parking: • It is not criminal trespass for a non-employee (e.g., customer, vendor, or guest) to have a firearm in their vehicle, even if it’s parked in your lot; in fact: • Can be loaded and unencased. • Can only be concealed by licensees. • Recommended signage: • “No Weapons or Firearms, Except in Your Locked Motor Vehicle” • Universal “No” symbol (red circle with a line) around a gun/knife. • At all reasonable access points and entrances.

13. Areas to Regulate • Employee Parking: “An employer may not prohibit a licensee or an out-of-state licensee, as a condition of employment, from carrying a concealed weapon, a particular type of concealed weapon, or ammunition or from storing a weapon, a particular type of weapon, or ammunition in the licensee’s own motor vehicle, regardless of whether the motor vehicle is used in the course of employment or whether the motor vehicle is driven or parked on property used by the employer.”

14. Areas to Regulate • Questions About Employee Parking: • Can we prohibit non-licensees from weapons in our lot? • Can we prohibit licensees from carry/storage in our vehicles? • Can we prohibit licensees from open storage in their vehicles? • Can we prohibit licensees from concealed carry/storage in their vehicles? • Penalty would be related to employment – i.e., discipline or discharge.

15. Areas to Regulate • The Course of Employment: “[A]n employer may prohibit a licensee or an out-of-state licensee that it employs from carrying a concealed weapon in the course of the licensee’s or out-of-state licensee’s employment or during any part of the licensee’s or out-of-state licensee’s course of employment.”

16. Policies to Modify • Workplace Violence/Weapons: • Most prohibit any/all weapons, anywhere on premises. • Revise to reflect: • Choice regarding buildings and premises; • Choice regarding personal vehicles of non-licensed employees; • Choice/rules regarding personal vehicles of licensed employees. • Work Rules/Code of Conduct. • Company Vehicles. • Open Door/Reporting. • Personal Information. • Non-Discrimination/Anti-Harassment.

17. Frequently Asked Questions • Should we ask if employees have licenses? • What if we do nothing? • Can we regulate different areas/people differently? • Are we absolutely immune if we allow weapons? • Are we strictly liable if we prohibit weapons?