Eau Claire (WQOW) - Wisconsin's new concealed carry law will take affect in November. Local handgun safety instructors are already seeing a surge in people wanting the training needed to get a permit. A certain firearm or hunter's safety class will be required.
Dan Marcon opened Marc-on Shooting School this year.
"We've been a little slow at first just because it's a new company," he says.
But, with the passage of concealed carry in Wisconsin, business for this Desert Storm veteran has picked up.
"The last couple of weeks, we've been booking up classes," he says. "We have a class coming up towards the end of the month. It's a Minnesota concealed carry [class], but we have guys that are signing up for it right now in hopes of that...Minnesota's going to have reciprocity into Wisconsin."
At this point, Wisconsin has not decided which state's concealed weapon permits it will recognize, according to the state's Department of Justice.
That hasn't stopped handgun owners like Gary Barden from looking into the training that might be required.
"I would like to know the basic safety, how to carry it, where to carry it, where it's going to be safe," Gary says.
Dan says owners like Gary will have to wait if they want a permit from Wisconsin. The state won't finalize specific concealed training requirements for a few months, the Department of Justice reports.
For example, "when we teach the Minnesota class, we teach over two hours of strictly law," says Dan. "You have to know you can't just shoot someone for touching your car, running a red light or something."
When the time comes, Gary will be ready.
"I'd like to be able to carry it when I go hunting," he says. "I do a lot of hunting."
The Department of Justice plans to have a list of other states whose concealed carry permits will work here by the end of next week. It also hopes to set training requirements by sometime in August.
