The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...

... are the West Allis, Wisconsin Police officers who saw fit to arrest law-abiding resident Brad Krause on August 22, 2008 for openly carrying a holstered pistol on his own property while he was innocently doing some yardwork.

The open carrying of a handgun in public is perfectly legal in Wisconsin, as even rabidly anti-gun Governor Jim Doyle admitted when he recently ranted against a proposed concealed-carry law:

"The Wisconsin Dells Events quoted him as saying, 'If you want to carry a gun in Wisconsin, wear it on your hip.'"

Hypocrite Doyle also saw fit to acknowledge open carrying's legality when it suited his purposes:

"Then attorney general Jim Doyle used that precise argument before the state Supreme Court in Wisconsin v Hamdan, in which the state carved out a concealed weapon exemption for small business owners."

In addition, the open carrying of a handgun on one's own property happens to be legal in every state. That's kind of why they call it "private" property.

These facts, however, didn't stop the West Allis officers, who decided to invent a reason to take Mr. Krause to the pokey, as firearms instructor Gene German relates:

"'They shortly discovered Brad had no criminal record and was lawfully openly carrying on his own property, but instead of releasing him and returning his weapon, they tried to figure out how to arrest him. A call to the supervising lieutenant provided the answer: claim his action of carrying a weapon is disorderly conduct, and haul him down to the station. His firearm was taken away from him without a receipt, and it has not been returned'"

Because it's so disorderly to quietly plant trees in one's own yard, you see.

Sooner or later, Wisconsin residents who wish to stop these illegal attacks on their rights are going to have to begin openly carrying in large numbers, much like Ohio residents did in 2003 when they were pushing to have their own open carry rights recognized. The Ohioans also successfully obtained a concealed-carry law in that state that year as well, due to a few well-publicized "Self-Defense Walks" in various cities, including the capital of Columbus. Those walks solved their dilemma quite nicely.

Wisconsinites, the ball is in your court.


Full disclosure: I have met and worked with Gene German on a couple of occasions when we were both helping to pass Minnesota's own "shall-issue" carry law.