On Thursday June 5, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen issued Concealed Carry Permit #1 for a retired investigator.
Van Hollen said he hoped other agencies would follow his lead. He said he has told them they have the authority to issue such permits under a four-year-old federal law that makes some of the thousands of retired Wisconsin officers able to carry a concealed weapon.
Van Hollen issued the permit Wednesday to Tom Steingraeber, who retired from the Department of Justice’s white collar crimes unit in 1993. He said he would grant the permits to other retired agents who qualify.
For some time there has been confusion in the Badger State over whether or not law enforcement agencies had the authority to issue permits under House Resolution 218, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, which enables off duty and retired law enforcement to carry concealed firearms.
Because of two vetoes of the Wisconsin Personal Protection Act by Governor Jim Doyle (D), Wisconsin is only one of two remaining states that do not recognize some form of concealed carry for law-abiding citizens.
Under the 2004 federal law, police agencies can permit former officers to carry concealed firearms if they retired in good standing, worked as an officer for 15 years or more, have met state firearms training standards within the past year, and are not otherwise barred from possessing a firearm under federal law.
