Wisconsin

Wisconsin licenses only concealed carry (Wis. Stat. §941.23, CCW permit since 2011 Act 35); open carry of a handgun has long been legal without a license for anyone 18+ who can legally possess, following state supreme court precedent (State v. Hamdan/Fisher) predating the CCW law. I could not load the official Wisconsin statutes site directly this session (404); this reflects well-established, uncontested general legal knowledge.

Wisconsin has no church-specific statute. Under the general private-property rule (Wis. Stat. §943.13(1m)(c)), carry is allowed unless the place of worship has posted the statutorily-required sign prohibiting weapons.

Wis. Stat. § 941.237(3)(cx), confirmed via direct research: a licensee may carry (openly or concealed) in a Class B (bar/tavern) establishment, but may not consume alcohol while doing so. The dataset's own reciprocity notes flag a separate, unrelated Wisconsin quirk about which out-of-state permits it accepts — not relevant to this location question.

Wisconsin DNR states directly: the 2011 concealed-carry legislation 'eliminat[ed] the requirement to unload or case a handgun before it is placed, possessed or transported in or on a vehicle, boat, snowmobile or ATV. Handguns can also be loaded while inside or on a vehicle' — an explicit, official, on-point confirmation that a CCW licensee may carry a loaded handgun on a boat in Wisconsin.

Wis. Stat. §175.60(16)(a) flatly bans carrying in 'any portion of a building that is a county, state, or federal courthouse' (narrow exceptions only for a judge or DA who is themselves a licensee), and separately bans a municipal courtroom only while court is in session. For other state or local government buildings, the statute's own note confirms government entities MAY choose to prohibit weapons by posting a sign or giving verbal notice at common entrances — meaning an ordinary DMV or city hall is carry-friendly by default and only becomes off-limits if that specific government body has chosen to restrict it.

Wisconsin's concealed-carry law (2011 Act 35) lets the University of Wisconsin System (and, by similar authority, other campuses) post buildings to bar concealed weapons under Wis. Stat. § 943.13(1m); UW System's own rule (UWS 18.10(3)) independently forbids weapons on university lands/buildings absent written approval, and the legislature specifically declined UW's request for a blanket statutory exemption in favor of this posting mechanism. In practice virtually all campus buildings are posted and off-limits, but the restriction operates through posting/policy rather than a flat statewide ban on unposted outdoor grounds.

Wis. Stat. § 943.13(1m)(c) requires a specific-format sign (minimum size/text as defined by statute) to effectively prohibit carry; absent proper signage, carry is presumptively lawful.

Verified directly from the official Wisconsin statute: Wis. Stat. 175.60(16) enumerates the state-level prohibited-places list (jails, courts, secured mental-health units, etc.) with no private-property consent requirement, and 175.60(21)(b) confirms the framework is opt-out by granting immunity to 'a person that does NOT prohibit an individual from carrying' on property they own or occupy — i.e., the default is to allow, and the owner must act to prohibit.

Wisconsin Statute § 175.60(16)(a)8 restricts carry only 'beyond a security checkpoint' at an airport, confirmed independently by usacarry.com ('a place beyond a security checkpoint in an airport') and Wikipedia's 'Gun laws in Wisconsin' (citing the same statute number and describing the restriction as applying past TSA security checkpoints). Non-secure public terminal areas are not restricted for a Wisconsin CCW licensee.

Wisconsin does not have blanket permitless carry, but Wis. Stat. §941.23(2) exempts carrying a concealed weapon (including a firearm) in one's OWN vehicle, or a vehicle you have the owner/operator's consent to be in, from the CCW-license requirement — similar to the home/land/business exemption. A CCW license IS required to carry concealed in someone else's vehicle without consent, or in public generally. My fetch of the official statute site returned a garbled/partial excerpt of the relevant subsection, so the exact letter designation should be double-checked before this is treated as fully verified.

Wisconsin has no statute prohibiting firearms in hospitals unless the property owner has posted the statutorily-required sign — the default (unposted) state is legal carry, same as most private property in WI. No public/private distinction in the default rule.

Wisconsin requires a concealed carry license. Wis. Stat. §941.23 itself does not enumerate sensitive locations (those come from other, narrower statutes); no rest-area restriction was found. Verified against the statute text directly.

Wis. Stat. § 175.60(2g)(c) (confirmed directly via docs.legis.wisconsin.gov): "upon request by a law enforcement officer who is acting in an official capacity and with lawful authority, a licensee who is carrying a concealed weapon shall display to the officer his or her license document [and] photographic identification card." Reactive only.

Wisconsin DOJ: "Wisconsin residents can apply for authorization to carry a concealed handgun." No non-resident application pathway is offered; Wisconsin instead relies on reciprocity to cover visitors.

Wisconsin's statute is unusually explicit about exactly the buffer-vs-grounds distinction at issue here: Wis. Stat. §948.605(2)(a) bans firearm possession within 1,000 feet of a school, but §948.605(2)(b)(1r) exempts individuals licensed to carry a concealed weapon 'so long as they are not in or on the grounds of the school' — i.e., a CCW license satisfies the exception for the surrounding buffer, but carrying ON the actual school grounds/building remains banned even for licensees. The statute expressly cross-references and adopts several of the federal exceptions at 18 U.S.C. §922(q)(2)(B)(i),(iv)-(vii).

Wisconsin's firearms-specific posted-property provision (Wis. Stat. § 943.13, the subsection addressing weapons signage) treats violation of a compliant sign (minimum 5x7 inches, posted prominently near entrances) as a Class B FORFEITURE — a civil penalty, explicitly distinguished from Wisconsin's general criminal trespass provisions. Wisconsin deliberately carved firearms-signage violations out of the criminal trespass regime.

Wis. Stat. § 66.0409: political subdivisions may not regulate sale, possession, carrying, licensing, etc. of firearms unless identical to state law. Named grandfather exception for local ordinances in effect on November 18, 1995 (that remain no more restrictive than state law), plus narrow local authority over discharge, sales-tax, and new sport-shooting-range zoning.

Wisconsin has no enacted polling-place firearm ban. 2025 Senate Bill 949 and companion 2025 Assembly Bill 943 (introduced Jan./Feb. 2026, all-Democratic sponsorship in a GOP-controlled legislature) would create new § 941.236 banning firearms within 100 feet of a polling place, but both remain in committee with no floor action — not enacted.

No state-level magazine capacity restriction found.

No extreme risk protection order or red flag statute found in Wisconsin; legislative red-flag proposals have not passed under divided government.

Wisconsin bans machine guns, silencers, and SBR/SBS by default, but each statute carries an express carve-out for anyone who has complied with federal NFA licensing/registration. Suppressors: Wis. Stat. §941.298 makes possession a Class H felony unless NFA-compliant. SBR/SBS: Wis. Stat. §941.28 has the identical federal-compliance exception. Machine guns: Wis. Stat. §941.26 bans possession generally but does not apply to any firearm that could have been lawfully registered at the time of the 1968 NFA enactment — exempting properly registered pre-1986 transferable machine guns. No additional state-level restriction beyond completing the federal NFA process for any listed category.

No SYG statute, but Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 810 (self-defense) directs there is no affirmative duty to retreat before using force, and opportunity to retreat is relevant only as one factor bearing on reasonableness. Wis. Stat. § 939.48 (as amended by 2011 Act 94) separately strengthens the presumption of reasonableness for force against an intruder in the home, vehicle, or place of business. Net effect: no duty to retreat anywhere lawfully present, though retreat opportunity remains evidence a jury may weigh.

No Wisconsin statute requires background checks on private firearm transfers. Confirmed via absence from Giffords' UBC list.