An Act to repeal 167.31 (1) (cm) and (e) and (2) (a) and (b), 167.31 (3) (a) 2., 167.31 (4) (ag), 167.31 (4) (am), 167.31 (4) (bg), (bn) and (bt), 167.31 (4) (cm) and (d), 173.07 (5) (b), 175.60 (2g), 175.60 (2m) (bm), 175.60 (3) (c), (d) and (e), 175.60 (11) (a) 2. b. to i., 175.60 (11) (b) 2., 3. and 4., 175.60 (14) (am), 175.60 (16) (title), (a) (intro.) and 8. and (b) 3., 175.60 (17) (a), (ac) and (b), 440.26 (3m), 941.23 and 948.605 (1) (ag) and (ar); to renumber 175.60 (12) (b) 1. a. and b. and 175.60 (16) (a) 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6. and 7.; to renumber and amend 175.60 (11) (b) 1., 175.60 (12) (b) 2., 175.60 (15m), 175.60 (16) (b) (intro.), 1. and 2. and 175.60 (21) (c); to consolidate, renumber and amend 167.31 (3) (a) (intro.) and 1. and 175.60 (11) (a) 2. (intro.) and a.; to amend 29.089 (2) (a), (b) and (c), 29.091 (2) (a), (b) and (c), 29.301 (1) (b), 29.621 (4) (a), (b) and (c), 110.07 (1) (a) 1. and 3. and (b), 167.31 (2) (c), 167.31 (2) (d), 167.31 (2) (e), 167.31 (4) (a) (intro.), 167.31 (4) (b), 167.31 (4) (c), 167.31 (4) (cg) (intro.), 167.31 (4) (f), 167.31 (4) (i) and (j), 175.60 (2) (c), 175.60 (2m) (a), 175.60 (5) (a) (intro.), 175.60 (5) (a) 1., 175.60 (5) (a) 6., 175.60 (9) (b) 2., 175.60 (9g) (a) 2., 175.60 (9g) (a) 3. a. and b., 175.60 (12) (a), 175.60 (14) (a), 175.60 (14m) (f) 4. b., 345.11 (1s), 345.20 (2) (f), 813.122 (9) (am) 1. and 2., 813.123 (8m) (a) and (b), 813.125 (5r) (a) and (b), 938.78 (3), 939.632 (1) (e) 3., 941.237 (3) (cr) and (ct), 941.295 (2g) (c), 943.13 (1m) (c) 4., 943.13 (4m) (bm), 948.605 (2) (b) 2d., 2f. and 2h. and (3) (b) 5., 6. and 7. and 968.255 (1) (a) 2.; to repeal and recreate 941.235; to create 167.31 (4) (a) 1. and 943.13 (1p) of the statutes; Relating to: right to carry a weapon in this state, licenses to carry a concealed weapon, and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB609 would substantially change Wisconsin’s firearms laws by removing the general state prohibition on carrying a concealed weapon without a concealed carry license or law enforcement identification card. The bill keeps the licensing system in place, but primarily for purposes of interstate reciprocity and to satisfy federal gun-free school zone requirements. It also narrows the Department of Justice’s background-check review for concealed carry licenses to federal disqualifiers, rather than both federal and state disqualifiers, and updates related licensing, notice, and recordkeeping provisions.
The bill also revises where firearms may and may not be carried. It repeals several current restrictions tied to carrying or transporting firearms in vehicles, on highways, and in certain public places, while preserving prohibitions in specific sensitive locations such as police stations, correctional facilities, secure mental health facilities, and other places barred by federal law. It adds a new prohibited-place offense for carrying in a declared nuisance and creates a new general prohibited-places statute, with violations treated as a Class A misdemeanor. The bill also removes the prohibition on loading a firearm in a vehicle, adjusts hunting setback distances from hospitals, sanatoriums, and schools, and makes conforming changes across criminal, civil, juvenile, and firearms-related statutes.
The bill’s impact on state law would be broad. It repeals or rewrites multiple sections of the Wisconsin statutes governing concealed carry, prohibited places, employer restrictions, school-zone firearm rules, hunting near institutions, and law-enforcement exceptions. It also changes penalty structures by eliminating some distinctions based on whether a person has a concealed carry license and by standardizing certain violations as misdemeanors or forfeitures. In practical terms, it would expand lawful carry rights for many adults while preserving a licensing framework for limited purposes and maintaining restrictions in selected sensitive areas.
The general sentiment reflected in the bill materials is strongly pro-gun-rights and deregulatory. The bill was introduced by a large group of Republican legislators and was framed as eliminating the general concealed-carry prohibition while retaining only targeted restrictions. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, and the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, so there is no recorded floor debate or vote history in the supplied materials to show broader legislative support or opposition.
The main points of contention are likely to be the same issues that usually surround concealed-carry and firearms preemption legislation: whether removing the concealed-carry license requirement increases public safety risks, whether the state should continue to screen license applicants for state-law disqualifiers, and whether the bill goes too far in limiting local and state restrictions on carrying firearms in public buildings and other locations. The bill also appears to raise questions about the interaction between state law and federal law, especially in school zones and other federally restricted places, as well as the effect on employers, law enforcement, and property owners who may want to restrict firearms on their premises.
AB609 would repeal and rewrite numerous Wisconsin statutes related to concealed carry, prohibited places for firearms, vehicle transport and loading rules, hunting setbacks, employer restrictions, and firearms-related background-check and notice provisions. It would remove the general state ban on carrying a concealed weapon without a license, while preserving licenses and law-enforcement identification cards for interstate carry and certain federal-law purposes. It would also standardize or alter penalties for firearms offenses, including creating a new Class A misdemeanor for violations of the new prohibited-places statute and revising related enforcement and recordkeeping provisions affecting DOJ, courts, and local officials.
The likely areas of contention are the bill’s elimination of the concealed-carry license requirement, its narrowing of DOJ background checks to federal disqualifiers, and its repeal of several location- and vehicle-based firearm restrictions. Opponents would likely focus on public safety, school-zone concerns, and the reduction of state and local control over firearm restrictions, while supporters would emphasize constitutional carry, reciprocity, and simplification of the law. The bill also raises tension between state policy and federal firearm restrictions, particularly around school zones and other prohibited places, and between gun-rights advocates and employers or property owners who want to limit firearms on their premises.