Preparing for concealed carry

GREEN BAY - In just a week, Wisconsin will be the 49th state to implement a concealed carry law.

On Tuesday, the law takes effect.

Law enforcement agencies have had a few months to prepare, but they say it's still a work in progress.

Officers at the Green Bay Police Department, as well as other law enforcement agencies, are getting ready.

"We're working on installing procedures at the department basically for weapon storage in the event we do encounter a person that is carrying a weapon concealed," said Lt. Kevin Warych with Green Bay police.

"For the most part, it's informative as to what's in the statute and what impacts that'll have on operations," said Capt. Randy Schultz with the Brown County Sheriff's Department. "As far as in the field, everything is the same. We have always taught that everyone is armed until we prove differently, and if law enforcement asks differently, then we take a step back."

However, once the law is in place, officials expect it'll be a continuous work in progress.

"Obviously there's going to be a grace period in there, when everybody is going to be learning, but it falls back on the licensee to know the law," Lt. Warych said.

Not just anyone can pack concealed heat, proper permits are needed and at least four hours of training.

The law bans concealed guns from some public places, like police stations, jails, courthouses, government buildings and schools.

However, it is ultimately up to certain individual business owners to decide if concealed weapons are allowed in their establishment.

Attorney Bruce Deadman says he's taken lots of questions from area businesses since the bill was signed.

"We have been encouraging employers to do their own individual analysis of their customers and of what effect this is going to have on them from a marketing standpoint, if they post or don't post and also to gage their employee base, to look at their whole company culture and to base a decision on that," explained Deadman.

If you have questions about the new law, the Justice Department has set up a website that provides the rules and details.