Justices Consider Challenge To Gun Ban On Madison Buses

Lawyers for the state and a gun rights group told the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday that a gun ban on Madison’s city buses violates Wisconsin’s concealed carry law, but a lawyer for the city argued there’s nothing in the law preventing such a restriction.

Wisconsin law allows for the carrying of concealed weapons by licensed permit holders. While citizens or businesses can prevent people from carrying guns on private property, concealed weapons are allowed in public places like city sidewalks or even the state capitol.

State law also prevents cities from passing gun ordinances more restrictive than state law. That’s what Wisconsin Concealed Carry, Inc. contends happened in Madison, where guns are banned on city buses.

But the city contends that argument overlooks an important distinction: While there’s a gun ban on city buses, there’s no gun ordinance. Instead, the city gave Madison’s Transit and Parking Commission the power to set its own rules for buses. The commission used that authority to ban weapons of any kind.

Madison Assistant City Attorney John Strange told justices that if the legislature had specifically wanted to prevent such a ban, it could have said so when it passed the concealed carry law.

“I know that the legislature could have casted a broader net — they still could,” said Strange. “The point that the city is making is that it’s not the job of this court to rewrite the law.”

The Wisconsin Department of Justice joined Wisconsin Concealed Carry, Inc. in opposing the gun ban, arguing the state Legislature clearly intended to prevent bans like Madison’s and the city was trying to split legal hairs.

“Because the city couldn’t do this directly, it cannot do this indirectly,” said Attorney Ryan Walsh with the DOJ’s Office of the Solicitor General. “That’s a very old principle of our legal system.”

Some of the Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices sounded inclined to rule against the gun ban.

“Please tell me where the people have given any authority to the city of Madison or its transit commission to infringe the peoples’ constitutional right to bear arms on their buses?” asked Justice Rebecca Bradley, a member of the court’s five justice conservative majority.

Strange argued even if justices dispute the way Madison arrived at its gun ban, state law still gives cities the power to ban guns on vehicles they own.

“The city owns the buses,” Strange said. “The city controls the buses.”

Madison won its case at the circuit court and appeals court levels.