MONROE - Wisconsin's concealed carry law doesn't go into effect until Nov. 1, but it is already moving many to consider how they will handle the consequences of the new law.
Should concealed guns be allowed in certain public places? That's a question on the minds of officials of institutions, public and private, across the state.
The board of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will take a first look at the new law July 21, when Sherry Kudronowicz, the hospital's administrator, brings up the subject in her management report.
No policy has been drafted, but she wants "to get the board to think about it," she said.
The hospital has no policy restricting the carrying of handguns openly in its facilities. Even though open-carry is allowed in the state, going with a firearm into public buildings owned or leased by the state or a "political subdivision" is a class A misdemeanor.
"Lafayette County owns a lot of buildings. They will probably make a county-wide policy, which we would fall under," Kudronowicz said.
The hospital has never had an issue with open-carry, Kudronowicz said. But by its very nature, concealed-carry brings a different aspect to the situation - one in which staff members wouldn't necessarily know who had a concealed firearm, she explained.
Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud is also mulling the law's impact on deputy interactions with citizens.
"We knew it (concealed carry law) was going to happen, we just don't know how to handle that yet," he said. "How do we approach people, what can we ask?"
Skatrud, like his colleagues statewide, is waiting for the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) to set up the permit process and determine what training is needed for permit applicants.
"We don't know anything more than the public does, at this point," he added.
But he said he expects law enforcement agencies will receive some guidance as the DOJ rolls out implementation of the law.
Skatrud said the Sheriff's Department has not yet received any calls from people asking about permits, and he's hoping the DOJ takes care of the process through their own offices in Madison, rather than put the work on local sheriffs' offices.
While government departments are gearing up for the new law, the number of gun shoppers is steady, but hasn't jumped dramatically, at Martin's Sport Shop in Monroe. Shop owner Don Martin, in business since 1956, said handguns have been selling well for months.
But "it's still too early to tell" whether the new law will have a more dramatic increase in sales, he added.
Shoppers coming into his store are of all ages, he said, and "any number of gals," have come in.
And it is women wishing to carry handguns that gives Kudronowicz pause to think about the extent of the hospital's new policy.
"Probably the only point in contention is (restriction in) the parking lots," she said. "What is becoming more and more common is for women who are traveling alone to want a gun, for protection only, with no intention of using."
Kudronowicz said she has learned, in her personal experience outside the hospital, a common topic of conversation among women of all ages is their concern for their own protection.
"People feel the need to protect themselves more so than in the past," she said.
Should concealed guns be allowed in certain public places? That's a question on the minds of officials of institutions, public and private, across the state.
The board of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will take a first look at the new law July 21, when Sherry Kudronowicz, the hospital's administrator, brings up the subject in her management report.
No policy has been drafted, but she wants "to get the board to think about it," she said.
The hospital has no policy restricting the carrying of handguns openly in its facilities. Even though open-carry is allowed in the state, going with a firearm into public buildings owned or leased by the state or a "political subdivision" is a class A misdemeanor.
"Lafayette County owns a lot of buildings. They will probably make a county-wide policy, which we would fall under," Kudronowicz said.
The hospital has never had an issue with open-carry, Kudronowicz said. But by its very nature, concealed-carry brings a different aspect to the situation - one in which staff members wouldn't necessarily know who had a concealed firearm, she explained.
Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud is also mulling the law's impact on deputy interactions with citizens.
"We knew it (concealed carry law) was going to happen, we just don't know how to handle that yet," he said. "How do we approach people, what can we ask?"
Skatrud, like his colleagues statewide, is waiting for the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) to set up the permit process and determine what training is needed for permit applicants.
"We don't know anything more than the public does, at this point," he added.
But he said he expects law enforcement agencies will receive some guidance as the DOJ rolls out implementation of the law.
Skatrud said the Sheriff's Department has not yet received any calls from people asking about permits, and he's hoping the DOJ takes care of the process through their own offices in Madison, rather than put the work on local sheriffs' offices.
While government departments are gearing up for the new law, the number of gun shoppers is steady, but hasn't jumped dramatically, at Martin's Sport Shop in Monroe. Shop owner Don Martin, in business since 1956, said handguns have been selling well for months.
But "it's still too early to tell" whether the new law will have a more dramatic increase in sales, he added.
Shoppers coming into his store are of all ages, he said, and "any number of gals," have come in.
And it is women wishing to carry handguns that gives Kudronowicz pause to think about the extent of the hospital's new policy.
"Probably the only point in contention is (restriction in) the parking lots," she said. "What is becoming more and more common is for women who are traveling alone to want a gun, for protection only, with no intention of using."
Kudronowicz said she has learned, in her personal experience outside the hospital, a common topic of conversation among women of all ages is their concern for their own protection.
"People feel the need to protect themselves more so than in the past," she said.