Today, State Representative Scott Allen (R – Waukesha) and State Senator Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) released LRB-0471, a proposed bill that would allow each school board to voluntarily choose to create their own concealed carry policy to protect their students.
This bill came about at the request of the Germantown School Board who wrote that “the ‘gun free school zone’ signs do nothing but notify a criminal that there will be few, if any, people in the building that can defend themselves.” They requested “that Wisconsin Concealed Carry Weapon statues [sic] be amended to allow a license holder to possess a firearm on the school grounds and within school buildings if authorized by the local school district.”
“The sad reality is that school shootings have happened,” stated Rep. Allen. “Schools provide soft targets for those looking to do harm, and this bill gives school boards the option to change that.”
The bill avoids a state-wide solution, and instead gives each school district the ability to make a choice that is currently prohibited by state law. The bill also would eliminate the concealed carry license fee for teachers.
“We need to protect our students,” said Rep. Allen. “Every local school district should be given the choice to protect their students from bad actors with the awareness that schools are no longer soft targets.”