6/10/11 – Wisconsin senators will vote Tuesday on a bill to make people get training and state permits before they can carry concealed weapons. On a 12-to-4 vote yesterday, the Joint Finance Committee endorsed a concealed carry bill that’s more restrictive than the one a Senate panel endorsed last month. Wisconsin and Illinois are the only states that don’t allow concealed carry. And Republicans have said for years that people need it to protect themselves. However, Senate Democrat Bob Jauch of Poplar said it would not make Wisconsin a safer place to be. Those 21-and-older could get permits – and they’d undergo background checks to make sure they’re not prohibited from owning guns. The Justice Department would keep a database of permit holders, but the names would be kept secret. And law enforcement would only be able to determine the validity of permits. Officers could not routinely check the database when they stop a vehicle to see if there might be a gun in it – a defeat for police groups who demanded that provision. Concealed weapons would be banned in more public places than the earlier bill. Business and government buildings could ban weapons by posting signs. Tavern patrons could carry hidden heat as long as they’re not drinking.
