Today, the first of November, Wisconsin’s new concealed-carry gun law goes into effect. And I don’t feel one bit safer.
I’m not a gun hater. I am thoroughly trained in firearms use by a highly-decorated World War Two Combat Infantry Veteran - my late father. I have trod the woods and fields of Wisconsin legally hunting deer and small game. That’s me, above, a few years ago, doing some target-shooting on my land in Colorado.
The reason I don’t feel safer today, mainly, is that those people who argue most vociferously for their right to carry a concealed weapon are, I believe, also the most likely to actually USE that weapon. The same people who will say things like “an unloaded gun is a useless thing” and “I carry it for protection” and “cars and baseball bats kill people; nobody’s talking about taking them away from us”.
The rights-demanders are seemingly just itching for a situation where they can draw their concealed weapon and put it to use. We can debate this assertion, but you won’t likely change my mind.
I will feel less safe because I, or a member of my family, may find themselves in a situation where somebody with four hours of weapons training actually uses a concealed weapon, and I or my family member ends up injured or worse because we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Law enforcement officers are thoroughly trained in weapons use, and they have professional protocols to follow. I want them to be carrying a weapon wherever and whenever. I trust they will know when to shoot, and when not to shoot. The rights-demanders: not so much.
As to my personal relationship with concealed carry: I won’t apply for a permit, and I will not violate the law by unlawfully concealing or carrying a weapon. Suffice it to say that if someone invades my home when I’m around, there will be nothing concealed about what I choose to greet them with.
