Open Carry in Wisconsin

Many gunowners may not know that, in Wisconsin, a person can legally carry a handgun, as long as it is carried in the open. It cannot be carried concealed.

Wisconsin was in gun rights' news a short time back, when the legislature almost passed a concealed carry law. The legislature did pass a concealed carry law; then Gov. Doyle vetoed it. Initially, it appeared the legislature had the votes to over-ride the veto, but Gov. Doyle was able to twist a couple of extra arms at the last minute, and his veto survived.

Wisconsin's existing open-carry law hasn't gotten much notice, but it's still there.

Today I received a faxed copy of the Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. VanHollen's opinion letter (Advisory Memorandum) dated April 20, 2009, which clarifies the State's approach to open carry. This memorandum addresses the relationship between open carry and disorderly conduct, because some police jurisdictions had confronted persons legally carrying a handgun in open view and charged them with disorderly conduct.

The memorandum states, in part, "The Wisconsin Department of Justice (the Department) believes that the mere open carrying of a firearm by a person, absent additional facts and circumstances, should not result in a disorderly conduct charge by a prosecutor."

If you plan to carry openly in Wisconsin, you might want to obtain a copy of this Memorandum and have it with you.

You'll probably want to make very sure that you do not permit any garment to obscure sight of your firearm. You probably should not even carry it on your belt in your car or placed on the car seat; even that may be construed as concealed carry.

Note the word "prosecutor". Carrying in the open could result in an arrest, but I guess you can hope that the prosecutor will abide by the Attorney General's Memorandum.

The Memorandum does not prohibit an officer from briefly stopping you and asking a few questions. Paragraph 9 of the Memorandum is very important. It reads, in part, "An officer may approach and question someone as long as the questions, the circumstances and the officer's behavior do not convey to the subject that he must comply with the requests. ... The person approached need not answer any questions."

Only parts of the Memorandum are discussed here. For your protection, you are urged to read the entire Memorandum.

The Wisconsin Attorney General's Memorandum can be viewed in its entirety at
http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/FinalOpenCarryMemo.pdf