Wisconsin DA Says Gun Laws Unconstitutional

[denwego]

Obviously, Wisconsin has different gun laws than Texas, but this is huge... the DA of Jackson County, WI, has issued a release saying he isn't going to prosecute any more cases involving most of Wisconsin's statutes on carrying weapons; essentially, anything that isn't so-called "constitutional carry" is unconstitutional!

http://www.co.jackson.wi.us/html/distri ... hicago.pdf

[AEA]

WOW!

Can we clone him to the other 49 States?

[Purplehood]

That is simply an amazing document. That is EXACTLY how our elected leaders should behave.

[Excaliber]

How refreshing it is to see freedom celebrated instead of stomped on by the holder of a government office!

The actual McDonald v City of Chicago decision was much more narrowly tailored than the way the D.A. in Wisconsin described it, but his interpretation of the fact that it incorporated the right to keep and bear arms to all the states is certainly in keeping with the Constitution.

He'll get plenty of flak for this, but sometimes that's what it takes to get other folks thinking along the same lines.

[sjfcontrol]

Wow is right!

...it puts concern for the criminal’s welfare ahead of the barkeeper’s right to self-defense. The fact is, criminals don’t pay attention to gun laws, only we good folks do. After 15 years of criminal law practice, I can state positively that when criminals resolve to harm someone, no law will stop them. These so-called “public safety” laws only put decent law-abiding citizens at a dangerous disadvantage when it comes to their personal safety, and I for one am glad that this decades-long era of defective thinking on gun issues is over.

[jimlongley]

That needs to be copied and sent to every other DA and Attorney General in the US.

"Let Freedom Ring" says it all.

[Fangs]

I like this guy, can he be made president?

[ELB]

I called the DA's number on the county website to verify it was genuine. The woman who answered said it was. I told her to give him an attaboy from me.

[A-R]

That needs to be copied and sent to every other DA and Attorney General in the US.

"Let Freedom Ring" says it all.

This is stunning in its bravery and patriotism. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect the guy could ultimately lose his job over this stance. Some anti group is going to try to have him removed from office for "no doing his job to enforce Wisconsin laws" .... at the least he'll face a strong opposition for re-election.

Hope the NRA and other RKBA supporters will have this guy's back and strongly support his re-election financially and politically.

[cougartex]

[budroux2w]

wow... that's awesome!

[joe817]

He'll get plenty of flak for this, but sometimes that's what it takes to get other folks thinking along the same lines.

That needs to be copied and sent to every other DA and Attorney General in the US.

I totally agree with both of you! As this letter get circulated throughout the gun forums, NRA, all State gun associations, even the news media, perhaps....just perhaps this will have the snowball effect of other DA's around the country to follow suit.

Thanks ELB for taking the time to call up there and verify that the letter is indeed legitimate, and a STRONG thanks to you denwego for posting the link to the letter!

It will be interesting to follow the developments of the effect of this letter.

[pdubyoo]

I'm impressed with this DA from WI. This raises some questions for me...Are there some Texas state or local laws that would/should now be deemed unconstitutional, considering the SCOTUS ruling? If so, what are they?

Edit: SP

[joe817]

Just to reinforce the validity of the announcement of the Jackson County, WI DA's letter, here's the link to the Jackson County,WI DA's website:

http://www.co.jackson.wi.us/html/distri ... orney.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Scroll down the page and you'll find a link to the letter.

I think this is of great importance and its implications. I think that word should be circulated of the decision of this brave DA.

Charles.....paging Charles Cotton? Any suggestions on how to accomplish this goal?

(you know, there IS a thread in "Other States" that has a sticky thread that list about 20 or so conceal carry forums of states. hmmmm...)

[denwego]

Now that it's getting more circulation on several gun forums, the Wisconsin equivalent of TSRA has started a petition with the other county DA's in Wisconsin to get their take on it, as well as asking the Jackson County DA who issued this release to ask their state attorney general for an official opinion on the prospective constitutionality of those mentioned laws post-McDonald.

Texas' and Wisconsin's laws on handgun carry are dissimilar enough that the precise arguments are hard to transfer down to here, but the notion that the state's interest in preventing crime "outweighs" the individual's rights is very much parallel to us here. The Texan legal argument that "you can carry a rifle without a permit, but not a handgun," or "you can carry concealed, but not openly," or "you can carry a 5" knife, but not a 6" knife" are the type of just-arbitrary-enough-laws that are really, really questionable in Texas, as I see it.