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Massad Ayoob: Constitutional Carry No-Cost Solution for Wisconsin

| March 16, 2011 | 11 Comments
Ayoob demonstrates the G18 machine pistol on full auto. There are six spent casings in the air. Click the image to read a free article by Mas Ayoob, courtesy of Gun Digest and Tactical Gear.

Mas Ayoob demonstrates the G18 (Glock) machine pistol on full auto. There are six spent casings in the air. Click the image to read a free article by Mas Ayoob, courtesy of Gun Digest and Tactical Gear.

In his recent Backwoods Home Magazine blog post (Weirdness in Wisconsin), author and self-defense teacher Massad Ayoob asks a very poignant question about the prospect for passing a Shall-Issue license-to-carry bill in Wisconsin amidst the state’s economic turmoil.

“Where will funding for the licensing bureaucracy come from?” asks Mas.

Good question.

He Continues:

Gun owners’ civil rights activists have a brilliant answer: simply pass permitless carry. Called “Constitutional carry” by some, such a law allows any law-abiding citizen with a clean criminal record to carry loaded and concealed in public. It will entail only a cost-free vote and a stroke of the Governor’s pen. That model has worked for Vermont for as long as any living citizen can remember, and every year Vermont is one of our lowest crime states per capita, some years THE lowest. It has worked for years in Alaska. It is working in Arizona, and will undoubtedly work in Wyoming, which just became the fourth state to pass permitless carry.

Anyone familiar with Mas Ayoob’s books, and the classes he conducts through the Massad Ayoob Group, knows that this man is no wild right-wing radical. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more respected name in the firearms industry. And here he is, saying the very same thing WGO has been shouting from the rooftops all these years. I point that out only for this reason: Constitutional Carry is not an extreme position. It’s simply the sensible position, consistent with the Second Amendment (which declares that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed) and, as a concept, admits that our rights are not to be granted by permission slip.

Of course, Ayoob is not making an argument from a definitional platform of rights, per se, he’s simply pointing out an economical argument. In other words, he’s being intellectually honest and arriving at the same conclusion.

He continues:

It [Constitutional Carry] will work in Wisconsin. It would be a brilliant stroke that would cut the Gordian Knot, at least on this issue, for an entangled Wisconsin legislature.

While my personal interactions with Ayoob have not been many — I’ve met the man once and talked on the phone a few times with him I can tell you that he is a monumental name to be on the side of Constitutional Carry. Given his long-standing support for Shall-Issue permit carry, I am glad to see him putting his usual cool, collected rational thought-process to the issue of Constitutional Carry (an issue that tends to get clouded with over-charged emotions and egos).

As a long-time fan of his concealed carry and other firearms books, it’s pretty clear to me that Mas Ayoob is a man who wants the good guys armed at all cost. Or, in this case, at no cost at all.

Read more: Backwoods Home Magazine

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Category: Blog, WGO Blog

About the Author ()

Corey Graff is the executive director of Wisconsin Gun Owners, Inc. (WGO), a pro-gun activist, and a lifelong gun owner from Wisconsin.

Comments (11)

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  1. George says:

    The problem with a constitutional change is that it is going to take two sessions of the legislature to do it. Right now, with Walker and the republicans doing their best to alienate as many people as they can with their anti-public employee campaign, there may not be the votes to pass anything after this term. Better take what we can get as far as concealed carry goes before Walker blows town.

  2. Tim says:

    If Walker is to follow the hard line of saving the state money then he has no choice but to back constitutional carry. I’ll wait for the bill to be introduced. Our state gov. is so overwhelmed with the budget and recalls right now I think that is probably and correctly their first priority. I also like the permit idea for other states to recognize. If I can’t cross the border into MN concealed that makes the whole thing a hassle. Tons of us in border towns shop and eat out across the state line. (I currently hold a MN permit to carry) Maybe that is the compromise…if you need a permit for reciprocity…you are required to pay the expense. Like Massad says “costs the state nothing”.

  3. Ed says:

    No, it won’t require two sessions. The state Constitution already has the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in it. The only things that need to be changed are the prohibition against concealed carry, 941.23 IIRC, the Gun-Free-School-Zone law and the rationalization of the DNR rules and the concealed carry rights. One session and one stroke of the governor’s pen. Done deal. No constitutional amendment necessary.

  4. Gary Zambo says:

    Unfortunately I agree with George at the moment. I am reading Mas’s book at the moment and love his thoughts. I would love to see Constitutional Carry but I am afraid Walker came on a little too strong out of the shoot.

  5. Andrew says:

    George,
    This is not a change to the state constitution requiring two sessions of the legislature. “Constitutional Carry” is a reference to the fact that persons would be allowed to carry without any need for a permit, but simply based upon the verbiage in the constitution. Such a law or clarification to the existing statutes would likely be the cheapest path forward…. fingers crossed…

  6. Kevin Kevin says:

    I would nice to have people be consistent in in their thinking… We want action on an issue dear to us, but some complain the Governor is trying to do to much too soon. Really? You have to admit we have a lot of ground to cover in the next 4 years to overcome years of liberal over spending and expansion of government controls.

    Read a little economics, Hazlitts Economics in one Lesson, and you might get your mind right, or at least out of your arsh, and into the sun.

    Pass the bill NOW, ASAP.
    What the heck are we waiting for?

  7. Paul says:

    Dont know whats going on, I have not heard any news on the matter for a few weeks..Wish they would get this ball a rolling.

  8. gene willis says:

    how can he pass anything if the fleeocrats keep disaperaing?i know we have the votes to the ccl,(conceal carry law)but if he cant get the budget on line everything else is on hold.we waited ten years for this,we can wait a bit longer.

  9. Paul says:

    A permit for carry will consist of this. $$$$
    A building or buildings, to house permit workers.
    Rent or purchse price for the buildings.
    Office workers,salary.
    Office equipment for the office workers.
    copy machines, water,electric, heat, Ac, toilet paper,forms, file cabinets,computers, pens,pencils,supplied coffee> a second time since, you have to have a background check to buy the gun in the first place.Just more money to shell out.
    And if its gonna be anything like going to the DMV good luck, you will need to bring a cooler,and a sandwich with you, cause you will be there for hours. Something has to be worked out so that those no matter where they live or what direction they go in, are not arrested for being in 1000 feet of a school. Thanks for reading this ….

  10. Warren says:

    #1) Michigan recognizes resident permits and that’s it. If caught with a handgun in MI and you’re not a resident it’s a felony. Since I regularly travel there- WANT a permit.
    #2) Anyone know a Wisconsin resident that owns a handgun and has put twenty rounds downrange in the last six years. I do. Maybe they will never carry (hopefully). I wouldn’t want to be within 40 feet of them if they have to unholster and fire. What are those residents going to get out of 4 hrs of training? Make it 8 hrs and live fire – when they (realize) that hand-gunning requires SOME skill, maybe a handful will train.
    #3 I train on a regular basis, did LFI and others – it helps with mental preparation.
    In my opinion: that’s what’s needed, whether it’s constitutional carry or shall issue.

  11. Stbernardnot says:

    You put Ayoob the Boob in my face, I’ll drop WGO like a hot rock. This jack-booted thug never found a cop he wouldn’t stick up for. Even if it’s clear from videos of an incident.

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