WI School Employees Could Concealed Carry Under GOP Proposal

WISCONSIN — A proposal announced this week by two Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin could give school districts across the state the power to allow their teachers to carry a weapon.

State Rep. Scott Allen of Waukesha and State Sen. Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee announced the proposal for LRB-0471 on Monday. The measure would let school boards create their own concealed carry policy in an effort to protect their students, according to a joint news release from the lawmakers.

The proposal looks to avoid a statewide solution, instead giving school districts the ability to choose on something currently prohibited. The bill would also waive the fee for a concealed carry license for teachers, the joint news release said.

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Currently, it is a state felony to possess a gun on school grounds in Wisconsin. The law has a few exceptions, which are mainly for law enforcement.

Democrat Governor Tony Evers already announced plans to veto such a bill if it makes it to his desk.

"Wisconsinites have been desperately demanding commonsense proposals that will reduce gun violence and keep our kids, our schools, and our communities safe," Evers said in a statement posted to Twitter. "This bill isn’t among them."

The Republican lawmakers behind the proposal said it comes in response to the Germantown School Board, which in 2022 passed a resolution against gun-free school zone signs, arguing that they "do nothing but notify a criminal that there will be few, if any, people in the building that can defend themselves."

The school board asked state lawmakers for changes that would allow a concealed carry license holder to carry on school grounds if authorized by the district.

“The sad reality is that school shootings have happened,” Allen said in the release. “Schools provide soft targets for those looking to do harm, and this bill gives school boards the option to change that. We need to protect our students. Every local school district should be given the choice to protect their students from bad actors with the awareness that schools are no longer soft targets.”

This isn't the first time the idea of arming school teachers has made the rounds. After a gunman killed 19 children at a school in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022, the idea circulated among some in Wisconsin.

The recent proposal from Wisconsin Republicans comes on the heels of another school shooting, this time in Nashville, Tennessee, where a gunman killed six people ranging in age from 9 to 61.