While public colleges and universities in Wisconsin can (and in many cases, do) prohibit lawful concealed inside buildings located on campus, outside spaces are open to those with a valid carry permit.
Though there’s been no issue whatsoever with the law, Democrats in Madison are now pushing to make all higher education property “gun-free zones”. Under their newly introduced bill, anyone caught carrying a firearm on campus, even if they possess a carry license, could be sent to jail for up to nine months.
Democrats have proposed this bill before, but Republicans who control the Legislature haven’t acted on it. That’s likely to happen again. GOP leaders of both chambers of the Legislature didn’t respond on Wednesday to requests for comment on the bill.
This bill comes just days after police at UW-Platteville released the final report on their investigation into a murder-suicide that took place in a dorm on campus this May.
The 538-page report doesn’t offer a motive for why 22-year-old Hallie Helms killed assistant resident director Kelsie Martin, also 22, before taking her own life.Police do detail how Helms, an education major, was told her instructors would not be recommending her for a teaching license and stopped attending class in the weeks leading up to the shooting.
Investigators found evidence in Helms’ notebooks and search history indicating she was suicidal. By all accounts, Martin, who had just graduated with a degree in psychology, was checking in on Helms after reports of shouting and loud noises coming from her dorm room.
That’s when witnesses say they saw Helms point a gun at Martin and heard gunshots.
According to the police report, Helms had a concealed carry permit and had recently completed a firearms safety course.
This is tragic, but it’s not reason to change the current law. Helms was already violating the university’s policy, which clearly states,”Individuals are prohibited from carrying firearms and dangerous weapons into buildings or portions of buildings that are owned, occupied, or controlled by UW-Platteville, including residence halls and special event venues.”
So, because this “gun-free zone” didn’t prevent Helms from murdering a fellow student before taking her own life, Democrats now want to broaden the scope of these zones? That’s utterly nonsensical, but then, the gun control movement has never been about common sense, no matter how many times activists declare otherwise.
Removing the ability to lawfully carry on campus grounds would likely lead to individuals being arrested simply because they were on the wrong side of the street in cities like Madison, where the University of Wisconsin isn’t contained to one central and well-defined location. The prospect of getting hit with a misdemeanor charge certainly wouldn’t deter anyone intent on taking their own life or the life of another.
This bill is a solution in search of a problem, and thankfully it appears it’s going nowhere thanks to the fact that Republicans control the state legislature. If lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to use this tragedy as the impetus for new legislation, they should focus on expanding access to mental health care in Wisconsin, not limiting the exercise of a fundamental civil right.
Editor’s Note: Anti-gunners are hellbent on exploiting tragedy to advance their disarmament agenda.
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