Concealed guns for everyone!

Republicans are about to turn back the clock--to 1872, the last time it was lawful to carry concealed weapons in the state (great background here).  That means the stressed guy in the next cubicle, the angry road-rage hothead you just accidentally cut off in traffic, the drunk who's picking fights in the bar could all be packing heat.

And it gets better.  A current Republican-sponsored bill would require no permits, no background checks, and no training. (JS Online article here).  But the bill does have the stringent requirements that someone walking around with a loaded handgun in their Jockeys be at least 21 years old, not a felon, and not have been ruled mentally incompetent.  Thank goodness, huh?

I admit I don't know an awful lot about the issue.  My post was late tonight because I was doing some more research on it.  It seems a lot of the pro-concealed carry argument comes from the seminal Lott-Mustard study of 1997 showing that concealed carry correlates with lowered crime (because, as Lott says, "criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves").  However, there are studies reviewing the same statistics and coming to the conclusion that concealed carry actually increases crime (one example study here).  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reputable studies from the last ten years that backed either side. 

To be sure, Wisconsin is one of only two states (along with Illinois) that does not allow concealed carry.  And even Senator Russ Feingold backed a Republican-sponsored proposal in 2009 that would have allowed concealed carry into Wisconsin if it was legal in someone's home state.

But that doesn't make it right.

And they figured that out already back in the days of Billy the Kid..