More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-control Laws By John R. Lott

Does allowing people to own or carry guns deter violent crime?  Or does it simply cause more citizens to harm each other?  Directly challenging common perceptions about gun control, legal scholar John Lott presents the most rigorously comprehensive data analysis ever done on crime statistics and right-to-carry laws.  This timely and provocative work comes to the startling conclusion: more guns mean less crime.

Preview the book here

I have already covered guns and the laws for them.  As I found out Wisconsin already has an open carry law.

Wisconsin Summary 

Wisconsin is an open carry state.  They have complete state preemption for firearms laws.  However, you may not openly carry a firearm in a vehicle.

Legal Disclaimer

We make every effort to provide correct information on this site.  However, the legal landscape surrounding open carry is fluid and subject to a myriad of political influences in the various states.  Therefore, any and all information you glean from this site should be independently verified!

State Constitution         Article I, Section 25

The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose.

Minimum Age to OC    18

Preemption       Complete State Preemption of All Firearm Laws

NOTE: Almost all states allow local regulation of the discharge of firearms

Open Car Carry           You may NOT open carry in a car.

Private Sales     Not Yet Determined

Permit Issued    Not Yet Determined

K-12 Carry      Not Yet Determined

NOTE: The Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act Restricts Carry to Permit Holders

College Carry   Carry Prohibited by Statute

NOTE: Even if Legal, Students May be Subject to Academic Sanctions

Places Off Limits          None

State Law         •           Wisconsin Statutes

Official Documents       •           Governor Doyle Acknowledges Legality of Open Carry

State Organizations      

Local Ordinances        

Concealed Carry          Available at Handgunlaw.us

Source

Should there be tighter gun controls in the US?

Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights declares a well-regulated militia as "being necessary to the security of a free State" and prohibits infringement of "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."

The idea behind allowing citizens the right to bear arms is a necessary check on government.  The provision of the US constitution that guarantees us this right was not an unintended aspect of this country's beginnings, but rather a deliberate tool of construction.  The direct intention was to establish a check that even the most powerful government could not overcome.  Although gun control may seem specifically applicable in a broader sense, an American gun ownership rights (not an illegal’s right, notice the word illegal, they do not have rights under the Bill of Rights since they are not citizens) is a necessary check.  Gun control alone is not the solution for crime prevention.  The package to achieve the goal should include the control of guns shown in movies or on TV, family guidance and stricter sale of guns (to find those mentally unstable and keep guns out of their hands) with strict background checks for which Congress has only partially addressed.  Gun crimes in the US are more of a moral issue, with a failure at the core level of family values.  We have good gun laws; we only need too enforce them.  More un-enforced laws will not change a thing.

There are more guns per head of population in Sweden and Finland than in the US, but only a tiny fraction of the gun crime.

Why?

The problem is the justice system that continually releases repeat offenders back into society and the overwhelming concern for the criminal’s civil rights, while ignoring how badly the victims and their family’s rights have been violated.  There needs be tighter controls on the politicians and judges who allow this sort of thing to get out of hand in the first place.  Gun laws have gotten stricter for decades.  Gun crimes have increased at the same level.  If these stricter gun laws were working, we would have seen results by now. 

Stricter background checks for the purchase of firearms is a nice idea; unfortunately, this will do nothing to curb their malicious use.  Gun control laws fail because firearms can easily be obtained from sources other than your local gun store.  There are an estimated 200,000,000 unregistered guns in the worldwide black market for criminals to purchase!  Someone planning mass-murder would have no qualms about illegally obtaining semi- or fully automatic weapons, which are plentifully and available from "private" sources.  No matter how well meaning legislation is, twisted killers will never be stopped!

I am a gun owner.  I own 5 rifles and 2 shotguns and no handguns as of yet.  For me, shooting and hunting is a great hobby and an excellent form of exercise.  I eat what I kill.  I respect the law and deeply value life.  I believe all of my family and friends are responsible, safe and cautious gun owners.  Most of us were taught this disciplined behavior by our parents and grandparents back to the founding of the country.  We keep the peace and obey the laws; we are NOT the ones using guns illegally.

If the goal is to reduce gun crime, perhaps instead of the government passing more laws that in effect change nothing, there should be a focus on enforcing the current laws.  Presently, the police are out gunned by criminals with larger more sophisticated weapons, who don’t care about the laws and don’t value human life.  I will happily give up all my guns when the bad people out there can promise the same thing.

While the opinions stated here are mine, they are just that opinions.