WILL challenges constitutionality of DNR gun rule
Another shining example of the bureaucratic state’s methodology
Often, too, these incremental robberies of our liberties occur in small corners of the political universe, making them seem like isolated incidents, but before you know it, the accumulation of takings renders the right all but useless.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is taking on an administrative rule crafted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, saying it violates the Second Amendment and could result in fines for law-abiding citizens this summer.
That it certainly does—violate constitutional rights, that is—but a look at the evolution of the rule gives us a quintessential look at how the bureaucracy slowly takes away our constitutional rights, a step and a year at a time, to the point that hardly anyone notices until it’s too late. Often, too, these incremental robberies of our liberties occur in small corners of the political universe, making them seem like isolated incidents, but before you know it the accumulation of takings renders the right all but useless.
In this case, WILL did notice, and a tip of the hat to them. Specifically, the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) has a rule that declares 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.”
Seemingly innocuous, right? Well, WILL correctly argues, it is anything but. While the rule is designed to regulate fishing practices, WILL argues that it goes much further and violates the rights of all law-abiding gun owners. Let’s take a look.
The shore becomes a slippery slope …
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