Its dicey enough for wardens at the controversial agency when they have to contact people in isolated situations and adding the potential that a concealed weapon is present - - and endorsed by a top DNR official - - adds nothing positive to the wardens' already tough working environment.
Gunderson, the #2 senior assistant at the DNR after the Deputy Secretary, is a former pro-gun legislator and one-time owner of a sporting goods store that sold firearms.
He tells a home town publication, The JournalTimes.Com, of Racine, that concealed carry is jelling in Madison, raises no objection on behalf of the DNR, and doesn't say he is speaking for himself:
"The concealed-carry legislation originally proposed did include some reciprocity agreements, said former Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, who started working on concealed carry back in the 1990s.
"Concealed carry passed through the Legislature twice, he said, but former Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed it.
Gunderson is no longer a legislator, since he resigned in January to take an administrative post with the state Department of Natural Resources. But he has kept track of the bill that he proposed and said, "I think it's going to be moving here pretty quickly."
Two Assembly members and one senator are drafting a new proposal, he said. He anticipates a bill be will be drafted in the next couple weeks, and staff of Sen. Pam Galloway, R-Wausau, verified she is working on it.
Not to mention the anti-DNR sentiment being spread by DNR Barbie and the Republican legislators. . . .
ReplyDeleteI've always said I'd support concealed carry if first the law would be piloted in the state capitol building while the legislature is in session. The pilot would test the practicality of the legislation and give legislators a personal experience —the same as they’d be asking their constituents to take.
It's bad enough when an armed citizen mistakes a child for a turkey IN THE WOODS. Who will be mistaken for what on the streets, playgrounds and Starbucks of the state?
No one has been harmed or killed in DNR warden - citizen encounters. Who is willing to bet against the increased probability of someone getting hurt or killed in such encounters with concealed carry?
DNR wardens should ask for, and get, combat pay.