September 29, 2021

To the Committee on Insurance Licensing and Forestry,

I am submitting written testimony in opposition to SB516 which is being considered by the committee today.

According to a recent report by WAVE and the Center for American Progress (CAP), since the passage of Wisconsin’s law to allow people to carry concealed weapons (CCW) passed nearly a decade ago, evidence shows the following:
 · Trends in Wisconsin suggest that the passage of the CCW law was associated
with a rise in gun homicides.
 · Wisconsin’s CCW law is associated with “an increase in violent gun-related
crime.”
 · “Gun theft increased significantly following the enactment of the CCW law” in
Wisconsin.

Wisconsin legislators should not expand concealed carry reciprocity to allow people who are licensed to carry concealed weapons in other states–including states with CCW laws that include few or no training requirements and do not have a prohibition for people with dangerous histories–to carry concealed weapons in Wisconsin.

Expanding concealed carry reciprocity would weaken Wisconsin’s already minimal concealed carry license requirements and create many challenges for law enforcement. Wisconsin is on track for another record year of gun violence after Madison and Milwaukee saw record increases in 2020. SB516 takes us in the wrong direction, and I strongly encourage the committee to oppose this legislation.

Sincerely,
Heidi Rose
Program Director
WAVE Educational Fund
hrose@waveedfund.org

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