Concealed Carry Law Creates Conundrums for Village Officials

Although Wisconsin’s goes into effect Nov. 1, newly licensed “carriers” will need to pay close attention to where they can legally carry those weapons.

There’s some concern that people may be packing heat when they head to the library or to pick up their tax forms, and Menomonee Falls is beginning the process to regulate concealed weapons at the local level.

However, with so many gray areas in the new state law, finding an ordinance that works well and respects the rights of licensed gun holders will be a challenge.

When the calendar turns to November, state law will allow licensed residents to carry concealed weapons in most public places, including public buildings. However, property owners can ban concealed weapons on their property as long as owners post signs detailing the prohibition.

Lots of unknowns with new law

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just posting a sign. It’s gets a little more complicated than that. And the hypothetical situations people may find themselves in from an enforcement perspective is an attorney’s daydream.

In , carrying a concealed weapon is already banned under the state law since it is connected to the , which is a law enforcement building. Just a floor above the police station, however, the leases office space for administrators. Legal language in the law states that a facility that is leased may be exempt from a ban.

That means the school district would need to craft its own policy if it wants to keep concealed weapons out of its administrative offices, said Village Attorney Michael Morse.

“If the district isn’t sure, and the village isn’t sure – the district should adopt its own prohibition,” Morse said.

On a sunny day enjoying a little downtime in the park, you can feel free to carry a concealed weapon, once the law takes effect.

However, when you step into a park building to use the bathroom or grab a bite off the rotisserie, you may want to leave your weapon behind. The new law says the village cannot ban concealed weapons in parks, but it can prohibit them from park buildings.

“In theory, we have authority to ban concealed carry in park buildings, but we don’t have the authority to ban in parklands. I don’t know how we resolve that inconsistency,” Morse said.

Concealed weapons are also banned within 1,000 feet of a school, but a ban cannot be instituted in a parking lot. Adjacent to the parking lot at the library is a school and playground. It gets difficult to say where an offense may occur if someone falls within those overlapping areas.

These are some of the wrinkles that village leaders will take into consideration when they attempt to craft the “how” and “what” of an ordinance prohibiting concealed weapons sometime in October.

Library officials mulling their options

Before taking this issue to the head officials on the Village Board, Morse consulted the Library Board last week to discuss the creation of its own policy. Even if the Village Board passes an ordinance prohibiting or allowing concealed weapons in public buildings, still has the authority to create its own policies.

If a person breaks a library policy, they are technically violating a trespassing ordinance and can receive a citation. The Library Board favored prohibiting both employees and the public from carrying concealed weapons in the library. But with a policy in place, what is the responsibility of an employee to make sure it is enforced?

Is it an employee’s job or even right to ask for verification of a license? Are there exceptions for a person who just forgot their weapon was in their bag? How does one even know if someone is breaking a library ordinance by bringing in a concealed weapon? Those were among the array of questions board members had concerning creation of an official policy.

Enforcement often will be a judgment call

Police Lt. Jeffrey Knop said each and every call related to the concealed carry law, and a possible ordinance offense, will need to be taken on a case-by-case basis. He said, theoretically, the library’s potential ordinance against concealed weapons would be enforced just as the library's current ban on weapons is.

The only way someone could discover whether a person is armed is if they brandished the weapon in public, or a glimpse of it is revealed from a bag or a sweater. Once the new law is in place, there’s a blurred line between a criminal offense and an accident, he said.

“Not only do most groups of people have to make an adjustment given this new law, but police do too,” Knop said. “It’s always been our thinking in Wisconsin that a person carrying a concealed weapon has a devious intent, but we need to get away from that type of thinking.”

Knop said most cases involving an ordinance violation will be accidental in nature. An array of information, including the person’s appearance, demeanor and manner in which the weapon was seen, will all be considered by officers when addressing a concealed carry incident.

“One thing we will have to coach library employees on is not only did they see a weapon, but did they demonstrate using it in a nefarious way?” Knop said. ““It’s going to be on a case-by-case basis. We’ll find out why they have this weapon here. Did they have an intent on breaking the prohibition, or was it just an error in judgment?”

It remains unclear what path the Village Board and the Library Board will take in creating an ordinance, but Morse said they are keeping an eye on how other municipalities are handling the same issue.

Several communities and institutions throughout the area have already put their rules in place. In Germantown, village leaders allowed concealed carry in public areas, according to Germantown NOW. However, in Milwaukee and , officials banned concealed weapons in all municipal buildings.