2nd Amendment, Hunting Initiatives Advance

The past week has been a good week for those of us who feel strongly about our 2 nd Amendment rights. The State Assembly passed the Castle Doctrine bill, as well as l gislation aimed at preserving and strengthening our hunting heritage. The Castle Doctrine, also known as the Right to Self-Defense Bill, passed the St ate Assembly on November 1st on a bipartisan 71-24 vote. The bill confirms the r ights of law abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families from a cr iminal looking to do them harm. Specifically, the Castle Doctrine increases protections for homeowners who use f orce against an intruder who unlawfully and forcibly enter a person s home, vehicle, or workplace. Under current law, if a resident uses deadly or severe force agai nst an intruder, the burden of proof falls to the law abiding resident to prove the force was needed to prevent death or harm to himself or others. The Castle D octrine instead creates an automatic presumption of immunity for the resident if the intruder unlawfully or forcibly entered the dwelling or vehicle. The bill f urther clarifies that a resident does not have to try to retreat or flee before using force. I voted for this bill because I believe that it is a fundamental right of law ab iding citizens to defend themselves against criminals in their homes and they sh ould have the presumption of innocence. After passing the Assembly, the bill was approved by the State Senate. If signed by Governor Walker, Wisconsin would joi n 29 other states that have Castle Doctrine laws on the books. On the same day of our passage of the Castle Doctrine, Wisconsin became the 49th state to allow the concealed carry of weapons. This week the Department of Just ice started accepting applications for permits. For FAQ's and the application do cument visit the DOJ website at www.doj.state.wi.us/. Finally, I voted in favor of Assembly Bill 311, the Sporting Heritage and Recrui tment Bill. Authored by Representative Steineke (R-Kaukauna), this bill would he lp preserve and promote Wisconsin s hunting traditions. Specifically the bill would establish an ongoing Sporting Recruitment and Retention Task Force, offer reduce d fee hunting and trapping licenses to first-time applicants, allow high school credit of 0.5 for the successful completion of any DNR Hunter Safety Education p rograms, reward sportsmen and women who bring new people into the sport with a c redit toward future license purchases, and ensure Stewardship land access for ou tdoor pursuits. With hunting declining among the younger and older generations, this bill will g o a long way toward boosting participation. The bill passed on an overwhelming b ipartisan vote of 84-12, and now heads to the State Senate for consideration. Reforms and Results Governor Walker recently launched a website detailing the results of the reforms that the Legislature has passed this session. Currently, it has been calculate d taxpayers have saved over $469 million and counting. You can view the website by following this link: http://www.reforms.wi.gov/