The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a Madison ordinance that banned guns on city buses on Tuesday.
The court ruled that the city ordinance exceeded the authority granted to localities by the state's concealed carry law. The concealed carry law preempted the local ordinance, even though the ordinance was passed several years before the law. Since the concealed carry law outlines where localities can restrict gun carry, and buses are not one of the locations, the court found that the Madison ordinance exceeded local authority.
The plaintiffs said they were pleased with the 5-2 decision against Madison's "illegal" ban.
"The Supreme Court gave a thorough analysis of why the City of Madison lacks the authority to ban carrying guns on city buses," John Monroe, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We are pleased with this decision and look forward to putting an end to Madison's enforcement of its illegal rule."
Gun rights activists cheered the outcome. They predicted it would send a message to other localities that ban licensed gun carry on public buses.
"This ruling is a victory for hundreds of thousands of law-abiding gun owners across the state of Wisconsin," Wisconsin Carry, a gun rights group involved in the case, told WKOW. "The implication of this ruling will extend across the state of Wisconsin. Other cities/counties that prohibit carry on their mass transit buses are bound by this ruling as well."
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin expressed disapproval of the ruling, urged the state legislature to change the state's concealed carry law to allow localities to enact their own gun bans. Soglin said he was exploring the possibility of appealing the decision in federal court.
"As the owner of these buses, we believe that we've got the right to control behavior on them," Soglin told The Capital Times. "We've got the right to control whether people play loud music, bring on dangerous animals and we see it to be perfectly within our rights as property owners to be able to regulate firearms and knives for that matter."