WILL’s recent lawsuit and work with the Legislature highlighted the need to act and protect law-abiding fisherman

The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) applauded the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) for suspending an unconstitutional administrative rule that violated the Second Amendment rights of Wisconsinites. The vote was a bipartisan 7-2 vote.  

The Quotes: WILL Associate Counsel, Skylar Croy, remarked, “While this rule was designed to regulate fishing practices, it went much further by jeopardizing the rights of law-abiding gunowners in Wisconsin. WILL sued earlier this year because we deeply value the Constitutional rights of Wisconsin sportsmen.”  

Additional Background: Wisconsin Admin. Code § NR 20.05(2) asserts that “[n]o person may . . . [p]ossess or control any firearm, gun or similar device at any time while on the waters, banks or shores that might be used for the purpose of fishing.”  

Wisconsin’s regulation of firearms for fishing is among the most restrictive, because it not only regulates how one can harvest a fish, but it prohibits the possession or control of “any firearm” that “might be used for the purpose of fishing.” Because all firearms could potentially be used for fishing, this rule acts as a ban on all firearms. 

 While many states simply assert that certain firearms cannot be used to fish, Wisconsin extends its ruling by prohibiting the possession of a firearm on or near the water altogether. Fines for violation could be as high as $544.50 when court costs are included.  

Read more here:  

• Legislative Testimony, December 2024  
• Complaint, June 2024