Rep. Bill Kramer outs himself, reveals he's packing concealed heat

See, now here's where the whole idea of concealed carry escapes me.

The main Republican argument for enacting a law allowing Wisconsin residents to pack hidden heat was that criminals would be more uncertain of their chances of getting away with crime. Now comes Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha, Of Course), who told the Associated Press he carries a concealed, loaded semi-automatic Glock pistol during floor sessions.

Kramer is the guy who runs the show for the GOP majority, and occasionally wields the gavel. Let's hope he doesn't reach for the gun by accident when he's ruling someone out of order or telling Capitol Police to eject yet another aggrieved citizen from the gallery.

But here's the main thing: Now the whole world knows Kramer is packing heat. So if you're a terrorist gunman or nut case who wants to shoot off a gun on the State Assembly floor, who would you target first? That there politician with the concealed gun who just told the whole world about it, perhaps? So much for the element of surprise, and the whole rationale for passing the foolish concealed-carry law in the first place.

And by the way, where was the first recorded use since the law was passed of a concealed weapon against a criminal? Why, in an Aldi's grocery store in Milwaukee, where management had posted a sign, as permitted under the law, announcing that concealed guns were not permitted on premises.

Yeah. Well, you see, the guy who pulled the concealed gun to stop the robbery said he didn't notice the sign. The district attorney thereafter decided not to file charges against the customer who illegally carried the gun into the place, pulled it, and shot at an alleged criminal.

See, it's all about protecting the public against bad guys, but sometimes you have to break the law in order to do it, and the criminal justice system is going to sort of not pay attention to the full letter of the law if it would cause too much of a ruckus from outfits like the NRA -- that stands for National Republican Association, I think.

Apparently so much, as well, for the law's ban on carrying concealed weapons into schools and elsewhere. Based on first precedent, you can now just claim you didn't see a sign or didn't know the law prohibited your hidden gun. You might have learned of that provision in a concealed carry training course, if they were really covering that kind of stuff and the requirement was really enforced going forward. Instead, in Wisconsin, it's now blast away and ask questions later.