MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democrats want to ban concealed carry on college campuses in the hopes of preventing gun violence.
The bill they proposed on Wednesday would make it a Class A misdemeanor to possess a firearm on campus, even for people with concealed carry licenses. That charge carries a maximum penalty of nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
“This basically allows our colleges and universities to have the same gun-free school protections that our K-12 schools do,” said Democratic Sen. Kelda Roys, whose district includes UW-Madison.
Under current law, concealed carry permit holders must be allowed to carry weapons on public university campuses in Wisconsin, but they can’t bring guns into buildings with signs posted prohibiting firearms.
Watch: Democrats propose bill to ban concealed carry on Wisconsin campuses
Wisconsin is one of just 14 states where campuses must allow concealed carry, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
“I think Wisconsin is very behind,” said Nella Bleill, a UW-Madison student and survivor of the 2022 parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. “I think in terms of campus safety this is the number one thing [to change] because it’s so uncommon that concealed carry is allowed here on campuses.”
Democrats have proposed this bill before, but Republicans who control the Legislature haven’t acted on it. That’s likely to happen again. GOP leaders of both chambers of the Legislature didn’t respond on Wednesday to requests for comment on the bill.
This bill comes just days after police at UW-Platteville released the final report on their investigation into a murder-suicide that took place in a dorm on campus this May.
The 538-page report doesn’t offer a motive for why 22-year-old Hallie Helms killed assistant resident director Kelsie Martin, also 22, before taking her own life.
Police do detail how Helms, an education major, was told her instructors would not be recommending her for a teaching license and stopped attending class in the weeks leading up to the shooting.
Investigators found evidence in Helms’ notebooks and search history indicating she was suicidal. By all accounts, Martin, who had just graduated with a degree in psychology, was checking in on Helms after reports of shouting and loud noises coming from her dorm room.
That’s when witnesses say they saw Helms point a gun at Martin and heard gunshots.
According to the police report, Helms had a concealed carry permit and had recently completed a firearms safety course.
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