A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution.
I always wonder how many of the gun advocates have ever actually read that. I know some that haven’t. In Cottage Grove, Jeff Weigand who usually says nothing, was adamant that the Village of Cottage Grove be the Wild Wild West of Dane County. While the Village Board eventually voted to ban guns from Village Hall(on a 4-3 vote) it was not for lack of effort by Weigand who spoke up for the second time in a year and a half.
“What is it to say we don’t want to let our staff go through training and get a permit?” Trustee Jeff Weigand said. “We have a right to protect ourselves as defined in the Constitution.”
Not so much Jeff, where in the Constitution does it say you can conceal carry weapons in Village Hall, go take a look, I will wait. The sad thing is Weigand was not alone:
Trustee Micah Zielke agreed with Weigand
“The thing that irks me is any nut job, they aren’t going to go through the process of getting training. They are up to no good,” he said. “The whole point is to give people the right to carry and protect themselves and respond when there is a nut job out there with a gun.”
Yes nothing like an online course, or a hunting class 20 years ago, to be able to “respond to a nut job”. Of course, Zielke skipped over what happens when the \"nut job\" is the one doing the training.
However, while misinterpreting the Constitution, Weigand was thrown a loop when informed that the “no guns sign” was already up and the staff at Village Hall wanted it up.
Village President Diane Wiedenbeck said a sign had already been placed at the public works building.
That did not sit well with Weigand.
“It ticks me off public works did it without approval. The taxpayers own that building and this board represents the taxpayers,” he said. “That is an abuse if the staff uses their own discretion. I don’t appreciate that.”
While Weigand did not think a sign restricting concealed weapons should be placed at village hall or the public works building, he thought placing a sign at the police department and the emergency services building was a good idea.
Weigand had not been that mad since he was informed that the Fire Department was a public building. He is from West Bend and they have a hard time understanding the law there. The vote was then taken and the no guns sign will now be up in the Cottage Grove Village Hall.
One thing though that was interesting, is that Weigand has learned his lesson that the taxpayers own the public works building but then he said that the board “represents the taxpayers”. Since Weigand was adamant that we allow concealed carry in Village Hall, he must have (or Zielke or Viken for that matter) gotten much feedback from the citizens of the Village telling them they wanted guns in Village Hall. A quick open records request( for any correspondence regarding concealed carry) answered that question.
Jeff,
I have received word from the three listed Trustees below that they have no correspondence referring to anything dealing with the Wisconsin Conceal Carry Law.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
So the Village staff is answerable to him and he is answerable to no one. Interesting concept!
One last thing: You too can help keep concealed carry out of public places!
Concealed carry of weapons becomes legal in Wisconsin on Nov. 1, and local governments across the state are deciding whether to allow weapons in public buildings. Most communities are saying no.
It is also a decision business owners face. The law allows them to forbid their employees from bringing guns to work, and allows them to ban weapons on their property simply by posting a sign at the entrance.
Rather than sit back and watch, Wisconsin citizens, individually or in an organized way, can help them make that decision.
Every day, as you spend money in businesses you normally patronize — the coffee shop, hair salon, grocery store, gas station, restaurant — ask them to post a sign keeping weapons out. The Wisconsin Anti- Violence Effort has produced some small cards you can give to businesses, asking them to post a sign and giving them some reasons it makes sense to do so. (For example, workers at businesses that allow guns are 5 to 7 times more likely to be murdered, and 80% of all businesses in the country prohibit guns.)
Tell the businesses you want your family to be able to shop in a safe environment. Don’t threaten them; make it positive.
If they agree, notify WAVE, which is compiling a list of gun-free businesses so people can know where to shop safely. And sign a pledge on the WAVE website to support businesses that keep guns out.
In some communities like Stoughton and in a number of Milwaukee neighborhoods, there is a more organized effort to visit each business, ask them to ban weapons, and offer them a sign if they agree, to close the deal on the spot.
WAVE is the main contact for organizing, but the small cards and signs also are available in Madison from the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice office, 122 State St., and in Milwaukee from Veterans for Peace and Peace Action Wisconsin, 1001 E. Keefe. Cards are free, and quantity discounts are available on signs. Contact one of those organizations for more info.
H/T Xoff @ Uppity Wisconsin.
