Wisconsin agrees to drop ban on carrying firearms while fishing following challenge
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has agreed to rescind its 1999 rule barring anglers from carrying firearms, settling a lawsuit brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty that challenged the ban as a violation of the constitutional right to bear arms.
Associated Press
July 24, 2024
![One person stands and two others site in an aluminum fishing boat with an outboard motor in a lake, with trees showing different colors of fall foliage on the opposite shore. One person stands and two others site in an aluminum fishing boat with an outboard motor in a lake, with trees showing different colors of fall foliage on the opposite shore.](https://wisconsinpublictv.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/politics-courts-guns-fishing-turtleflambeau-20171008-1536x864.jpg)
Anglers fish in the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage on Oct. 8, 2017. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has dropped a ban on carrying firearms while fishing in response to a lawsuit brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — People fishing in Wisconsin will soon be able to carry firearms after a rule banning them was rescinded by the state following a lawsuit brought by gun rights advocates.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources agreed in an order released July 24 to rescind the rule barring anglers from carrying firearms. The lawsuit challenging the ban as a violation of the constitutional right to bear arms was brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.
The DNR agreed to rescind the rule, enacted in 1999, as soon as possible and both sides submitted a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“This action by the DNR properly restores the liberties provided by our Constitution to our client and thousands of Wisconsin (anglers),” said Skylar Croy, the attorney for WILL who brought the case in a statement.
WILL had argued that the rule was overly broad and limited all firearms along waterways in the state, not just those that could be used to harvest a fish.
The gun ban has not been enforced since 2011 when Wisconsin legalized the carrying of concealed weapons, said DNR spokesperson Molly Meister.
“The department will continue to enforce the laws that prohibit unauthorized methods of fishing, including the use of a firearm, gun or similar device to harvest a fish,” she said.
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