A state lawmaker wants businesses that ban guns to be held strictly liable for any gun-related injury that might occur in their premises, and to pay triple damages.
The “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act” is the brainchild of Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger).
“This bill will give the citizens of Wisconsin a better chance of defending themselves and their loved ones against this scourge of terrorist activity,” Gannon said in a news release.
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Gannon’s bill would discourage businesses from posting signs stating that firearms and other weapons are prohibited on the premises. That option was part of Wisconsin’s concealed carry law. License holders who violate the restrictions can be subject to a fine of up to $1,000.
Wisconsin became the 49th state to allow concealed weapons in 2011 with the passage of Act 35. More than 300,000 people have since obtained permits.
To encourage businesses to allow concealed carry, the concealed carry law provided owners immunity from any liability that may from any gun incident on the premises.
But the law didn’t address liability in the opposite scenario — a business that posts a weapons ban and has a gun incident.
Under Gannon’s bill the liability would attach automatically. In other words, if someone — a concealed carry permit holder or otherwise — injured or killed someone with a gun inside a store that had a sign prohibiting weapons, the business would be on the hook for triple the damages to any victims.
Gannon, who is in the property and casualty insurance business, said he was not aware of any similar law in other states.
Anyone surprised at this step of punishing people who don’t want guns on their premises? I think uStates has become the living embodiment of The Peter Principle.