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VIDEO: Concealed Carry 10pm 11/1/2011

UPDATED Tuesday, November 15, 2011 --- 10:25 a.m.

From the Department of Justice:

MADISON — With almost 37,000 applications for concealed carry licenses having been received by the Department of Justice (DOJ) within the last two weeks, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has some reminders for applicants to ensure their application is processed as smoothly as possible.

“Employees at the DOJ have been working tirelessly to process applications,” Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said, “In an effort to help them approve qualified applicants promptly and efficiently, I encourage people to check out the most common reasons for an application being rejected and thereby, forcing a delay in possible approval for a license.”

Some of the most common reasons for rejection of an application include:

· an applicant using an out-of-state concealed carry license as proof of training but failing to enclose the required affirmation form;

· an applicant failing to completely fill out the concealed carry application, or entering incorrect information such as the birth year;

· an applicant enclosing the required certificate for proof of training but lacking an instructor name or organization on the certificate;

· an applicant using an address on the application that fails to match Wisconsin Department of Transportation records.

The DOJ has posted online a more complete list of some of the most common reasons to help others avoid similar delays. The list is available at the following link:

http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/cib/ConcealedCarry/ccw-most-common-reasons-for-rejection.pdf

The “Concealed Carry” page of the DOJ site also includes an explanation of the changes to the training requirement made by the legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules. The information is available at the following link:

http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/cib/ConcealedCarry/ConcealedCarry.asp

Before applying, applicants should be aware that proof of training still is required to obtain a concealed carry license.

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UPDATED: Saturday, November 5, 2011 --- 7:10p.m.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Wisconsin Department of Justice has received more than 20,000 applications to carry concealed handguns since a new state law took effect Tuesday.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/vapNYk ) that data from the state Justice Department show that as of 4 p.m. Friday, 879 concealed carry licenses had been approved, while 117 were rejected.

Agency spokeswoman Dana Brueck says incomplete applicant data, insufficient training documentation or a missing payment are all reasons an application can be rejected.

The state has 45 days to issue a license once a valid application is received. Brueck says the Justice Department is working to make sure the deadline will be met.

State officials anticipate that as many as 200,000 applications could be submitted in the first few months.

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

Copyright 2011. The Associated Press.

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UPDATED: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 --- 9:36 p.m.

Concealing a weapon and carrying it in Wisconsin has now been legal for almost 24-hours.

More than 80-thousand of applications have already been downloaded from the DOJ website and some of the licenses are already approved and on their way out the door. But changes may still be coming.

In the Attorney General's Office it was tough to catch a breath Tuesday. Phones were ringing non-stop with questions about concealed carry and more than a dozen people were already waiting in line with applications when they opened the doors at 8 am.

All day they kept coming.

One man asked staff, "When do you think you'll open those? Because I can't wait."

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said, "We're going to have to try to continue to roll out these permits as fast as we can for quite some time."

Bob Lynn drove almost two hours to drop his application off in person.

He said, "If I do or if I don't (carry) it doesn't matter to me. I'm not looking to carry it. I just want to get the permit because it's my right to do so."

Today more than 145 applications were dropped off in person. 123 licenses were approved and 85 are already printed, ready to be mailed.

There have been a lot of questions about how quickly other applications will be approved and the licenses printed and mailed. Van Hollen says it depends how many applications they get and how many staff members they can keep working on the applications. Many of the employees have other duties as well. The department has 45-days to get the license in the mail but, at least for today, all the time was obviously not necessary.

The DOJ website shows how much interest the permits are generating.

On an average day the site gets 81,628 hits all day. Today the site had 797,656 hits by noon.

But tomorrow the legislature's rule committee will meet and discuss changing the rules. 2 republican representatives want to get rid of the 4 hour training requirement.

And there is some confusion about what people should do with a weapon in the capitol building because they're allowed in some, but not all areas.

A committee voted to allow concealed weapons on the Senate floor and in meeting rooms but not in the gallery during debates.

It's up to individual lawmakers to decide if they want to allow carrying in their offices and the Supreme Court is set to meet next week to iron out their policies.

We also talked to a captain from the Madison Police Department who says he sees some inconsistencies or unclear things in the law and they're waiting to see how those will be applied and interpreted down the road. He says some of this will have to flush itself out in the courts.

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UPDATED Tuesday, November 1, 2011 --- 2:54 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Justice Department has received more than 100 concealed carry permit applications so far.

DOJ spokeswoman Dana Brueck says as of early afternoon Tuesday, the agency had received 110 applications, approved 90 and printed 42 permits.

Tuesday is the first day Wisconsin residents can apply for concealed carry permits. Brueck says people downloaded about 83,000 application forms from DOJ's website between midnight and 9 a.m.

Applicants must either mail the paperwork to DOJ or drop it off in person at the agency's state Capitol office.

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UPDATED Tuesday, November 1, 2011 --- 12:03 p.m.

Thousands download Wis. concealed carry apps

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Justice Department says tens of thousands of people have downloaded concealed carry permit applications from the agency's website.

Tuesday is the first day Wisconsin residents can apply to the agency for permits to carry hidden weapons. The agency reports that between midnight and 9 a.m. about 83,000 permits have been downloaded and the site has gotten about 400,000 hits.

Under the law, anyone who is at least 21 years old, hasn't been convicted of a felony and takes at least four hours of firearms training can obtain a permit to carry concealed from DOJ.

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UPDATED Tuesday, November 1, 2011 --- 9:45 a.m.

Dozens hand in Wis. concealed carry applications

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Dozens of people have handed in concealed weapon permit applications directly to the state Justice Department in Madison.

Tuesday is the first day Wisconsin residents can apply for permits. Dozens of people handed their applications directly to a receptionist in the DOJ's Capitol office when the building opened at 8 a.m.

Matt Slavik of Brookfield is a member of Wisconsin Carry Inc., a group that advocates for the right to bear arms. He turned his application in at DOJ's Capitol office immediately after it opened.

He says he filled his application out at 1 a.m. Tuesday, saying he felt like a kid on the night before Christmas.

A DOJ spokeswoman says the agency could issue the first permits by the end of the day.

Copyright 2011. The Associated Press.

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UPDATED Tuesday, November 1, 2011 --- 6:35 a.m.

First day of Wisconsin's new concealed carry law

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- It's the first day of Wisconsin's new concealed carry law. But, police warn that if you carry a gun without a valid permit, prepare to be arrested.

If you're a resident of Wisconsin, having an out-of-state carry permit is not enough. The state Department of Justice says you must have a Wisconsin permit. If you don't live in Wisconsin and have a current permit from one of 26 states with requirements similar to Wisconsin's, you can legally carry a gun in the Badger State.

Concealed carry license applications are available from DOJ. The department hasn't processed any applications until Tuesday because it needs current criminal history information when doing a background check. The fee for a license is $50 and you need proof of training.

Copyright 2011. The Associated Press.

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Posted Monday, October 31st 6:00 p.m.

Just after midnight tonight, concealed carry rules change in Wisconsin. If you get a permit and follow the law, you'll be able to carry a concealed weapon, like a handgun, Taser, knife, or billy club.

Thousands are expected to apply for a permit, including Wisconsin's "top cop"--Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

He and his Department of Justice are in charge of implementing the new law.

Van Hollen told me, since Governor Walker signed the bill into law July 8th, "This concealed carry has taken a ton of resources for the Department of Justice." In fact, from the Handgun Hotline, to its legal department, to purchasing and I.T., spokeswoman Dana Brueck says it has affected virtually every aspect of the agency. Just one example--calls to D.O.J.'s Handgun Hotline, a number retailers must call before transferring ownership of a handgun, are up 41% from this time last year.

To get a concealed carry permit, you have to pass a D.O.J. background check, submit an application and $50, and prove to the D.O.J. you've had the proper firearms training. Van Hollen approved emergency rules requiring at least four hours of firearms training to obtain a CCW permit, or proof of other approved training--such as hunter safety, military, law enforcement, or training in another approved state. He said, "We don't want people driving a car who have no idea what they are doing, and we don't want people handling firearms, who don't know what they are doing."

Brueck expects a permit machine the Department of Justice had to buy to be humming--possibly even as early as tomorrow. "Given the Wisconsin culture, and more than 600,000 hunters, we do expect a high level of interest. We are estimating about 100,000 applications, but we could see as many as 400,000 to 500,000.

November 1st is also a day a lot of business owners have had to prepare for---people like Eliot Butler, who co-owns The Great Dane Restaurants and bars. He told me, "We don't believe that concealed weapons of any kind should be allowed in drinking establishments, and we won't allow them in our bars."

The law allows business owners, like Butler, to ban concealed weapons, but they have to post visible, legal signs. People with a permit can still keep their weapons in their car in a parking lot, since your car is considered your personal property.

If you're a homeowner, you can but do not have to display a legal sign to prohibit concealed weapons in your home. You just have to give people verbal notice.

Butler says The Great Dane is not taking a stand on the concealed carry law...and is not against Second Amendment rights.
"We just feel that the mixture of guns and alcohol is not a good one. And we wanted to ensure the safety of our patrons and our staff."

He hopes those who are carrying concealed understand his decision to ban weapons."We don't find this arbitrary. If they do, they can enjoy good food and craft beer elsewhere."

While a lot of people are concerned about the new concealed carry law, Butler says he doesn't expect problems, and neither does the Attorney General Van Hollen, who says, "In the 48 states before us who have permitted law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, you don't hear horror story after horror story of law-abiding citizens abusing these firearms to decrease public safety."