MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tens of thousands of people downloaded permit applications Tuesday within hours of Wisconsin's new concealed carry law taking effect, underscoring gun enthusiasts' pent-up frustration over years of waiting for authorization to carry hidden weapons.
The state Justice Department, the agency responsible for issuing permits, didn't have any estimates of applications received as of midday Tuesday. But all indications were tens thousands of people are looking to obtain permits.
An agency website offering downloadable applications went live at midnight. As of 9 a.m., the site had received 400,000 hits and people had downloaded about 83,000 applications, DOJ spokeswoman Dana Brueck said.
Dozens of people dropped off applications in person at the DOJ's office in the state Capitol as the building opened Tuesday morning.
"I would say yes, it's been a long time coming," said Rob Kovach, 38, chief-of-staff for state Sen. Frank Lasee, R-DePere, as he dropped his application off. "I just want to be able to exercise my right if I feel (I need to)."
About a dozen members of Wisconsin Carry, Inc., an organization that advocates for gun rights, were among the first to file. Some wore T-shirts emblazoned with the organization's logo and empty holsters on their belts.
Matt Slavik, 58, an information technology worker from Brookfield, downloaded his application at 1 a.m. He said he couldn't sleep and felt like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
"(The law) means I can protect myself and my family," Slavik said. "It's not the gun I love. It's the people it protects."
Paul Fisher, another member of the Wisconsin Carry group, said he didn't sleep much Monday night either. But the 47-year-old information technology worker from Elkhorn still complained about having to shell out the $50 application fee.
"I'd rather spend the money on ammunition than spend it on permission for what is a right," he said.
Forty-eight other states already allow some form of concealed carry. The National Rifle Association has been pushing Wisconsin legislators for the better part a decade to allow the practice here, but former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle blocked their efforts with his veto pen.
Last November's elections shifted the political landscape, though. Republican Scott Walker won the governor's office and the GOP seized control of both legislative houses. Walker signed concealed carry legislation in July, a little more than six months into his term.
Under the law and DOJ rules implementing it, anyone who is at least 21 years old, hasn't been convicted of a felony and takes at least four hours of firearms training can obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon from the state Justice Department. Permit holders can't carry in a wide range of places, though, including schools, police stations, courtrooms and private establishments whose owners have banned weapons.
It's unclear how long it may take to issue the first permits. Brueck said the first ones could go out by the end of the day Tuesday.
