Wisconsin gun rights controversy fuels arguments on both sides

A confrontation between advocates for open carry gun rights (gun owners are allowed carry their weapons openly in most public places) and Madison, Wis., police has drawn new attention to the open carry movement. The confrontation came at an event organized by open carry advocates at a local Culver's where five armed men were ultimately charged with disorderly conduct, Dan Simmons of the Wisconsin State Journal reports. Aruic Gold of the activist group Wisconsin Open Carry, Inc. said the dust-up "brought in new members and donations, which may be used to file a federal lawsuit against the Madison Police Department." (Photo by Craig Schreiner, Madison State Journal)

However, the controversy also brought negative feedback to the group from an unlikely source: other gun owners. "I don’t think (open carry advocates) represent ordinary family-oriented gun owners," Adam Schesch of north Madison, a 68-year-old target shooter and deer hunter, told Simmons. "If [my family] came into a restaurant and saw people with guns, we’d turn around and walk out. I would feel really unsafe." Open carry advocates say they hope to reduce that fear by making the sight of handguns more common.

"Wisconsin allows open carry of weapons except in schools, taverns and public buildings and restricts their possession in state parks," Simmons writes. "The state is one of two that doesn’t issue concealed weapon permits; Illinois is the other." Private businesses can ban guns, but some owners say the puts them in an unfair position, having to alienate one group. "I think it’s unfair to put small business owners in the middle of this," Pete Hanson, director of government relations for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, told Simmons. "Taking sides on a contentious issue is kind of risky." (Read more)