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Published June 8, 2024 at 6:38 pm ET
There’s a new lawsuit challenging Wisconsin‘s rule prohibiting people from carrying guns near water. Maksym Dykha – stock.adobe.com
(The Center Square) – There is a new lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s rule prohibiting people from carrying guns near water.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit earlier this week, alleging that the 1999 rule makes it illegal to “possess or control any firearm, pistol or similar device at any time while in waters, shores, or coasts that can be used for the purpose of fishing”, goes too far.
WILL associate attorney Skylar Croy said the original rule was designed to prevent anglers from catching muskies to put on the boat.
But he said the Department of Natural Resources is expanding the rule to essentially ban guns near lakes, rivers and other bodies of water.
“(Our client) has the right to exercise his constitutional rights without fear of unlawful enforcement. We request that the DNR correct its administrative policy to restore the individual freedoms that our constitution safeguards.” Croy said.
WILL client Travis Kobs says the rule means he can’t bring a gun as long as he’s in a state park that has a lake, river or stream.
WILL associate attorney Skylar Croy said the original rule was designed to prevent anglers from catching muskies to put on the boat. Gary C. Klein/KeynoteUSA NETWORK-Wisconsin/KeynoteUSA NETWORK
“I just want to have the ability to protect myself and carry a firearm responsibly, which I have been doing legally in Wisconsin for over 6 years,” Kobs added.
“The Second Amendment should apply everywhere, so I hope that eliminating this rule can protect the rights of Wisconsin athletes.”
Wisconsin allowed anglers to fish until 1966, when the DNR’s predecessor changed the rules.
However, DNR regulations were expanded in 1999 to prohibit not only the use of a firearm for fishing but also the possession of one.
But he said the Department of Natural Resources is expanding the rule to essentially ban guns near lakes, rivers and other bodies of water. fake images
“Until 1966, Wisconsinites could not only possess a small-caliber handgun near or on waters, banks, and shorelines, but they could also use that gun to shoot fish,” WILL’s lawsuit states.
“From 1966 to 1999, only the actual use of a firearm to shoot fish was prohibited. Consequently, the prohibition of firearms established by administrative regulation, even for self-defense, in certain places is not in line with a historical tradition of firearms regulation.
The lawsuit calls the DNR gun ban a “novel regulatory invention of the late 20th century” and says it “grants law enforcement officers ‘broad’ authority to ‘arbitrarily detain or arrest those who possess weapons near water for any reason.'”
WILL is asking a Sheboygan County judge to overturn the DNR rule.
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