A safety plan that's been in the works since last summer is taking on new urgency after two gun-related incidents at a Kenosha high school this week. 

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Last week we asked for your questions about immigration enforcement in Wisconsin, particularly as thousands of federal immigration agents patrol Minnesota’s Twin Cities, conducting door-to-door searches for immigrants and clashing daily with protesters and observers.

One reader reached out for information about Wisconsin’s firearms laws, citing the example of armed civilians at anti-ICE protests in Minnesota. The question preceded the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer in Minneapolis — a shooting that escalated tensions in Minnesota, sparked national protests and reignited questions about unchecked federal power. 

The episode also renewed a national conversation about the implications of exercising Second Amendment rights during protests and interactions with law enforcement. Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse at Minneapolis’ Veterans Affairs hospital, held a concealed carry permit for the handgun he carried that day. Video of the incident shows a CBP officer confiscating the handgun shortly before other agents shot Pretti multiple times, killing him.

Here’s the reader’s question and our answer below:  

I would like to know more about open carry in Wisconsin. I know Wisconsin has more permissive open carry laws compared to Minnesota. But, I know there are some restrictions as to locations as well.

Wisconsin law is, at least on the surface, fairly permissive on the matter of carrying firearms in most public spaces — a practice often referred to as “open carry.” 

“As long as you’re not a prohibited possessor for a firearm and you’re an adult, you are allowed to lawfully open carry a firearm in the state of Wisconsin,” said Milwaukee defense attorney Tom Grieve, a former state prosecutor and Second Amendment commentator.

Those prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal or state law include those with a felony conviction, anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or anyone subject to a domestic violence protective order. Others prohibited include people found not guilty of a felony by reason of mental illness, those adjudicated incompetent by a court or those with a history of involuntary commitments for mental illness or drug dependence.

Legal permanent residents can lawfully own a firearm, provided they meet other eligibility requirements. Most foreign nationals with nonimmigrant visas, including temporary employment-based visas, cannot own guns. Federal law also bars unauthorized immigrants from owning firearms — a rule that withstood a recent challenge in federal court.

But carrying openly, particularly without a concealed carry license, can be a legal minefield. Carrying a firearm on federal property — including post offices — or on school grounds is a felony, and Wisconsin law sets a 1,000-foot radius around all school properties in which possessing a firearm is generally illegal. In urban areas, Grieve added, “you’re almost always within 1,000 feet of a school.”

The right to carry — either open or concealed — also does not extend to police stations, courthouses or correctional facilities. Private property owners may prohibit guns on their premises and direct anyone violating their rules to leave. “Signs or no signs, if you’re asked to leave, you have to leave,” said Nik Clark, president of the advocacy group Wisconsin Carry, Inc. Private property owners cannot, however, bar people from keeping a gun in their personal vehicle while on their premises.

Concealed carry license holders are allowed to carry within 1,000 feet of a school under state law, but they are not exempt from the law prohibiting firearms on school grounds. Licensees may also carry their guns in bars and taverns, but only if they do not drink alcohol. 

Wisconsin residents over the age of 21 who are permitted to own a firearm can apply for a concealed carry license through the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Applicants must prove they have completed a firearms training course and background check and pay a $40 fee to obtain their first license, which remains valid for five years. 

State law generally prohibited Wisconsinites from carrying concealed firearms until 2011, when then-Gov. Scott Walker signed into law broad concealed carry rights that extend to most public spaces, including the state Capitol. 

The state issued or renewed more than 67,000 concealed carry licenses in 2024. Bryan Voss, a Milwaukee-area firearms instructor and member of the Wisconsin Libertarian Party, said the demographics of concealed carry license applicants are shifting. 

“I’ve heard that Black women are the most rapidly growing population of gun owners,” he said, “and the makeup of the classes does seem to support that.”

Most states either honor Wisconsin concealed carry licenses or do not require a license to carry a concealed firearm. Neighboring Illinois and Minnesota do not honor Wisconsin licenses, nor do 12 other states and the District of Columbia.

A growing number of states, including Illinois, prohibit openly carrying “long guns” — meaning rifles and shotguns — at protests. Those rules aim to prevent armed confrontations between protesters, counterprotesters and law enforcement, said University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor John Gross. “What (law enforcement) don’t want,” he said, “is a situation where you have two armed groups facing off against one another with the police in between them.”

But Wisconsin law generally allows both open and licensed concealed carry at political demonstrations. A few demonstrators carried rifles outside the Wisconsin State Capitol during a massive protest against COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, for instance. 

Minnesota also allows concealed carry permit holders to bring firearms to political demonstrations. 

Family members have confirmed that Pretti held a concealed carry permit for the handgun that a CBP agent confiscated moments before the shooting. Minnesota laws allow concealed carry permit holders to openly carry their firearms, although videos show Pretti had his handgun holstered and was holding a phone camera.

Wisconsin attorneys and gun rights advocates argue gun owners considering openly carrying their firearms at protests should think carefully about their decision.

“We have a right to our own self-defense, and the defense of our family and of our communities,” Voss said. “(But) I usually advise people against open carry. I find that there are very few situations in which that makes anyone feel better or really does you any good. Worst case scenario, it makes you the target.”

“When you are open carrying a firearm people generally think, ‘Oh, this is a great way to deter someone,’” Grieve said. “It might (be), or they’re just going to make sure the first thing they do is grab your firearm.”

Clark broadly cautioned against bringing firearms to protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

“I would encourage anyone who wants to go ‘demonstrate’ armed to keep a safe distance from law enforcement,” he wrote in an email. “Wave your flag, say what you want to say, but don’t get in close contact with law enforcement. I would advise anyone not to try to interfere with law enforcement at all. But if you do interfere with law enforcement, doing so armed is presenting yourself as a deadly threat and that is dangerous for both law enforcement and agitators.”

Still, Grieve said, carrying a firearm in the presence of law enforcement is not intrinsically grounds for officers to react with deadly force, as some Trump administration officials suggested in the immediate aftermath of Pretti’s killing. 

“If that’s the case, then game wardens in the United States would be slaughtering tens of thousands of Americans every year,” he said, “because those are law enforcement officials who, by their very nature, are dealing with armed Americans on a daily and hourly basis.”

Voss challenged the White House’s initial efforts to blame Pretti’s death on his decision to carry a firearm. In his view, none of Pretti’s actions captured on video justified the shooting. “At what point did (Pretti) do something that invited an immediate execution?” he asked.

Gross shares a similar view of the shooting. “He was a lawful gun owner legally carrying his firearm in a public space, and any arguments from the Department of Homeland Security or the FBI or other members of federal law enforcement that his possession of that weapon by itself indicates some intent to harm federal law enforcement (are) completely ridiculous.”

He was referring to comments from FBI Director Kash Patel and then-Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino questioning Pretti’s reasons for carrying a firearm on Jan. 24. Bovino has since been removed from his role.

“If that were true, it would eviscerate the Second Amendment right to possess a firearm,” Gross added. “It would essentially be saying, ‘If federal agents believe you have a gun, and you potentially could use that firearm against them, then they have the authority to disarm you or even use deadly force against you to protect themselves.’”

If you are considering carrying a firearm in Wisconsin either openly or concealed, consult with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and, if possible, an attorney to learn more about how to legally and safely exercise your Second Amendment rights, Grieve said. 

Wisconsinites may remember another incident that placed the intersection of firearms rights and protests in national headlines: In August 2020, then-17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois shot and killed two men in separate confrontations while patrolling Kenosha as part of an informal volunteer militia amid civil unrest following the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse later stood trial for homicide and reckless endangerment, among other charges. A Kenosha County jury acquitted Rittenhouse in 2021.

Rittenhouse has since become a gun rights advocate, and the shooting of Pretti prompted some national pundits to compare his exercise of Second Amendment rights to Pretti’s. Rittenhouse himself weighed in on Monday via Twitter. “Carry everywhere,” he wrote. “It is your right.”

Guns and protests: What are Wisconsin’s laws on open and concealed carry? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Some Wisconsin gun rights advocates are uneasy about claims from President Donald Trump and his administration that people can't carry guns during protests.

The post Wisconsin gun rights advocates uneasy with Trump comments after Pretti killing appeared first on WPR.

The suspected shooter is shown taking a right on Waterman Street after leaving the Barus and Holley engineering building Saturday. Police say they cannot tie this man to the man detained at a Coventry hotel. (Screenshot from Providence police video)

Providence police will release the man apprehended at a Coventry hotel early Sunday morning as part of their investigation of the mass shooting at Brown University’s engineering and physics building.

The surprising news came at a twice delayed press conference that began shortly after 11 p.m. at the Providence Public Safety Complex. The press conference was originally slated to begin at 10:30 p.m. and then 10:45 p.m.   

“I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes you head in one direction and you have to regroup and go in another and that is what has happened over the last 24 hours or so,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

The press conference came hours after national news outlets had already named a 24-year-old Wisconsin man, citing law enforcement sources speaking on condition of anonymity. The Associated Press had reported that police had seized two handguns and two loaded 30-round magazines when the man was detained at the Hampton Inn in Coventry.

“What is really unfortunate is that this person’s name was leaked to the public,” Neronha went on. “It’s hard to put that back in the bottle.”

Neronha declined to say what eliminated him as a person of interest.

Meanwhile, officials are still not releasing the names of the victims in the shooting, which killed two students and wounded nine others. Eight students remain hospitalized at Rhode Island Hospital.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said that the search will continue for additional video evidence. Residents living near the Brown University campus, particularly along Hope and Waterman streets, who have doorbells that record motion, are asked to upload any videos recorded after the shooting happened Saturday around 4 p.m. to a designated page on the FBI website.

Smiley said residents and business owners in the area who have video from that time can also call police at (401) 272-3121.

When a reporter asked Neronha if the person of interest would be exonerated in writing, after having his name nationally broadcasted in relation to a mass shooting, Neronha opted to sketch “a clear picture” of case law and the duration of forensics.  

“We can detain someone for a reasonable period of time if there is evidence as such that points to that person being involved in criminal activity,” Neronha said. “So you know, evidence doesn’t appear on your doorstep and you have answers to it within the first 15 minutes.”

Evidence, Neronha added, takes time and testing to confirm. Some tests can take an entire day to perform. 

“So over the course of the day, while we’re following up leads elsewhere, those initial leads may come back positive or may come back negative,” Neronha said. “Here they came back negative.”

Neronha got testy once more when a reporter asked about the availability of any additional video evidence. Smiley was at the podium, but Neronha’s voice boomed forward in reply. 

“If we had that video, you’d have it,” Neronha said. “Obviously, if there was, if there was a piece of video [where] we can show you a face and say, ‘This is our person of interest, or suspect,’ you’d have it.”

Asked about the possibility of additional video — whether from cameras at Brown or in the surrounding area, like homes or businesses — the AG offered a more resigned reply. 

“We’re not holding back video,” Neronha said. “We’re not holding back video that we think would be useful, and I don’t think I should even have to say it.”

The Barus and Holley engineering building where the shooting occurred is an older building with few cameras, Neronha said.

Still, Neronha said, officials cannot divulge everything. “We have a murderer out there, frankly,” he said. “And so we’re not going to give away the game plan.”

Smiley said the individual would “shortly be released” from the Providence Police but did not give a specific time.  

Smiley pledged to provide additional updates as the investigation continues.

“The community deserves to know the progress we are making in this investigation,” Smiley said. “I imagine that the Providence community feels a little bit more anxious than they did an hour ago, and I understand that.”

At a press conference Sunday morning, Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez was cautious in choosing his words to describe the status of the person of interest as being detained and not in custody. Perez had stopped short of saying the man apprehended in Coventry was the same man wearing all black shown walking on Hope Street and taking a right on Waterman Street in the video police released Saturday night.

Asked by a reporter if the man detained was the same man in the video, Perez was clear. “We do not have enough evidence to corroborate that,” the chief said. 

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States with weak gun laws, including Wisconsin, experience more firearm deaths among children ages 0 to 17, according to a study published in the June issue of JAMA Pediatrics. 

“We cannot accept that harsh reality as normal,” said Nick Matuszewski, associate executive director at WAVE Educational Fund, a statewide grassroots organization dedicated to preventing gun violence. “This study provides dramatic evidence that when lawmakers step up and take action, they can save young lives.”

The study, authored by national public health researchers using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, found that in Wisconsin, which was categorized as one of 28 states with the most permissive gun laws, child firearm deaths increased by 15%. The most affected group nationally was African American children. 

The study examined a period of time before and after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that expanded local and state control over firearms laws. 

After that ruling, many states enacted new and more permissive firearm laws, according to the report.  The study looked at all types of firearm deaths, including suicides, homicides and unintentional shootings. 

In 2015, Wisconsin ended its 48-hour waiting period to purchase firearms, said Tyler Kelly, policy and engagement senior associate at WAVE. 

Kelly said many neighboring states and others across the country have strengthened their laws on background checks. 

“In Wisconsin, we have no red flag law, weak storage laws and a lack of a waiting period for buying a firearm,” Kelly said. “All have been shown to save lives.” 

Reaction from state leaders

State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said the findings of the study are no surprise to anyone who lives in Milwaukee. 

“We see the consequences of this inaction in every child that dies and every family that grieves,” Johnson said. “Most of the kids killed by gun violence in Wisconsin come from right here in our city.” 

New Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said during a recent interview that 24 students in the district were victims of homicide this school year. Most were shot. 

New legislation, same old story

Johnson is among a group of Democratic elected officials who are pushing their Republican counterparts to move forward the Safe Summer package of legislation that would revamp the state’s gun laws. 

“I’m always hopeful, but if I’m being realistic, over and over again, Republican leadership has refused to debate common-sense gun safety proposals,” Johnson said. “Even a hearing would be a step forward at this point. I don’t believe that’s too much to ask.”

Championing the legislation is Democratic State Rep. Shelia Stubbs of Madison. She experienced a mass shooting at a school in her district in December 2024. 

“That day was a really difficult day for me. As a parent, I cried,” she said. “I don’t know how many more people must die from gun violence in the state of Wisconsin.” 

The Safe Summer package includes four bills. They would reinstitute the 48-hour waiting period to purchase a firearm; create an extreme-risk protection order, also known as a red flag law; ban ghost guns; and institute universal background checks for all firearm purchases. 

“We need better gun laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands,” Stubbs said. 

Gov. Tony Evers included similar measures in his last budget request, but they were removed by Republican lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Finance. 

NNS reached out to several Republican elected officials from Wisconsin for comment, but they did not respond. 

Republican leaders in Wisconsin and Second Amendment advocates have said over the years that gun violence is tied to a lack of accountability for criminals and not gun ownership. 

Stubbs and others disagree. She said the Republicans in Wisconsin refuse to discuss gun control legislation. 

‘We need better gun laws’

“We need better gun laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands,” she said. “It’s important to talk about the gun safety legislation to regulate access to firearms and promote responsible gun ownership.” 

Kelly said polls have found that the majority of Wisconsinites support stronger gun laws, including universal background checks and waiting periods to purchase guns. 

“If you’re using the gun for the right reasons, you shouldn’t have a problem waiting two days for it. “People in crisis shouldn’t be able to get a gun at the snap of their hands.” 

Stubbs said another major issue that the legislation would resolve is closing a loophole that allows private sales of firearms without background checks. 

“Those are transactions that do not get vetted,” she said. 

A universal issue

While proposed gun laws often become a partisan issue in Wisconsin and around the country, Stubbs hopes that changes. 

She said Democrats are looking for a Republican co-sponsor for the bills, calling gun violence a universal issue that affects everyone. 

“At the end of the day, many of my colleagues are parents. They have loved ones. Gun violence has impacted all of us in one way or another,” Stubbs said. 

Her hope is that something gets done before the next tragedy. 

“I hope it doesn’t take something more to happen before we do something,” she said. “We want everyone to have a safe summer. Enough is enough.” 

New study ties weak state gun laws to child deaths in Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.