A battle over carry on some Wisconsin buses may soon be heard by the highest court in the state. Currently, a policy instituted by the Madison Transit and Parking Commission prohibits firearms on all Madison city buses. In 2014, the group Wisconsin Carry filed a lawsuit claiming the ban violates Wisconsin’s firearms pre-emption law, which states that city governments may not enact resolutions or ordinances that are more stringent than existing state law.
The ruling in August by the 4th District Court of Appeals, which upheld the ban, centered around semantics: In the court’s eyes, Madison’s ban was a “rule,” or policy, rather than an official ordinance/resolution.
The plaintiffs have now appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court, and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel recently filed a brief with the court challenging the appeals court’s ruling.
