Wisconsin Carry, Inc. Files Lawsuit Challenging Madison Metro Transit "gun ban"

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. files lawsuit challenging Madison Metro Transit's ban of lawful firearm carry on buses.

For Immediate Release:

On November 19, 2013, Wisconsin Carry, Inc. sent a letter to Madison Metro Transit requesting they rescind their 'ban' on concealed /open carry on Madison Metro Transit buses. 

A copy of that letter is available here: /Content/files/blogs/Madison_Metro_Transit.pdf

Wisconsin Statute 66.0409 prohibits political subdivisions of the state including cities, villages, towns, and counties from enacting or adopting resolutions that regulate the possession, bearing, and transportation of firearms unless those ordinances or resolutions are the same as, similar to, and no more stringent than, a state statute.  Our legal team has exhaustively reviewed Wisconsin Statutes and finds no law that restricts the right of the people to possess and transport weapons on public mass transit. As such, we believe the Madison Metro Transit policy of prohibiting law-abiding people from legally carrying while they ride Madison Metro buses is preempted by statute and unenforceable.

Our attempt to avoid litigation and save the taxpayers of Madison the expense of funding the cost of defending Madison Metro's indefensible policy was unsuccessful.   A civil lawsuit against the City of Madison was filed today in Dane County Circuit Court.

A copy of this lawsuit is available here: /Content/files/blogs/Madison_Metro_Transit.pdf

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. believes it is imperative that municipalities abide state laws, even those they may have political opposition to. 

Furthermore, the right to keep and bear arms is a right guaranteed by both our State and Federal Constitutions.  For many low-income individuals living in high-crime areas, mass transit is their only mode of transportation. Madison Metro Transit's ban on lawful carry disproportionately disenfranchises low-income individuals from exercising their constitutional rights. 

Individuals who rely on mass transit often begin and end their day with a ride on Madison Metro Buses.  The ban on lawful carry therefore, results in those individuals being unable to have the means of self-defense, as they go about their daily lives, that Wisconsin's Act 35 has extended to the people of Wisconsin.