Court rejects gun argument

Permit needed for loaded pistol in car or truck

The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday shot down a claim advanced by some gun rights advocates that no permit is needed to carry a loaded handgun in a car or truck.

The argument cites a law that says weapons may not be transported unless unloaded, (or if a bow, unstrung) and encased during transport, “unless the weapon is a handgun.” The wording was added in 2011 to allow for people with newly legal concealed carry permits to have their guns with them in their cars.

And that’s the point District 1 Judge Patricia Curley made in the case of Brian Grandberry — the exception is clearly meant for people with concealed carry permits, even if the wording of the two related statutes doesn’t mesh as well as it should.

In 2014, Grandberry was stopped in Milwaukee and asked if he had a weapon in his car. He said he had a loaded .45caliber Hi-Point handgun in the glove compartment, but also said he had a concealed carry permit. Police checked and didn’t see one listed for Grandberry. That’s when he clarified that he had taken the class, but had not yet applied for the permit.

He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz found him guilty at a 2015 bench trial and sentenced him to a year of probation and 30 hours community service. He appealed.

Grandberry claims the safe transport law clearly excepts a handgun, and that makes the concealed carry law unconstitutionally vague as applied to someone like him. But the fact Grandberry, 23, lied about having a permit shows the law was not confusing to him, the court found.

“Grandberry was well aware of the fact he needed a CCW permit in order to take advantage of the safe transport statute, and given his knowledge of the law, his argument that the CCW statute was void for vagueness fails.”

Plus, the court said, it just wouldn’t make sense to allow anyone to carry loaded handguns in their cars at the same time the Legislature was requiring permits to carry outside the car.

“To adopt Grandberry’s position would be to practically abrogate the CCW statute and make almost all loaded guns found in vehicles legal. This would be contrary to the legislative purpose behind the CCW permit.”

Some gun rights advocates think owners should be able to carry weapons for self-defense without getting a permit and carry them in their vehicles, too.

A Merrill truck driver is advancing a similar defense to a concealed carry charge in Kenosha. He argues that as a long-haul trucker, his cab is often both his home and his place of business, locations where otherwise legal possessors of guns do not need a permit to keep their weapons.