Students For Concealed Carry To Host Training Class

Wisconsin Students for Concealed Carry –University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point chapter will host a concealed carry class on Nov. 9 at the Comfort Suites hotel in Stevens Point. This will be the third class put on by the organization since their formation in 2013.

To take the class, one must be 18 years old and a Wisconsin resident. If residents have taken the Wisconsin Hunter Safety course, they do not need to take this course to apply for a concealed carry permit.

“The class is one step of the requirements to get the license,” said Brock Majkowski, the president and founder of UWSP’s chapter.

The five-hour class is put on by a sheriff who runs a business teaching the basics of concealed carry and gun safety. The course is offered at a discounted rate of $45. Sign-up is at the Information and Tickets desk in the Dreyfus University Center.

Upon completion of the class, one must mail proof of training, $40 and application to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Applicants undergo a background check and any record of felonies or assault will prohibit acceptance.

Majkowski said there were no resources available on campus for students to become educated about concealed carry before the group was started.

WI-SCC meets on a regular basis and works to inform students about concealed carry permits. They also support the movement to lift the ban on guns in UWSP buildings.

Currently, it is illegal for someone with a concealed carry license to bring a firearm into a UWSP building. WI-SCC does not condone concealed carry in places where it is not allowed.

Majkowski said legal ramifications for a non-student carrying a firearm in a building are not very severe. If a student is caught, they may be expelled from the university and blacklisted from others.

“Threat of expulsion is a huge weight to carry over your head,” Majkowski said. “It’s just too great of a risk.”

Majkowski said since students are not able to carry their concealed firearms inside buildings, they are forced to leave them at home or in their vehicles.

“People are walking by themselves at night,” Majkowski said. “It makes their travel defenseless.”

Co-President Jeremiah Kaminski believes it is an individual’s responsibility to protect his or herself.

Kaminski said police have no obligation to risk their lives to protect the public.

He said there are many reasons a person may want or need a concealed firearm, but likely scenarios are an active gunman, stalker or rapist.

“The majority of people who take the class are new to the idea of taking their own safety into account,” Majkowski said.

Majkowski said many of the people who take the class are at a point in their lives when they are becoming more independent and want to feel safer. The last class offered by WI-SCC was 50 percent female. Representatives have seen increased interest.

Ally Yirkovsky is a UWSP student who has given some thought to concealed carry. She thinks the ability to draw a gun at any moment is a little concerning. Both her cousin and boyfriend have concealed carry permits.

“I think it is good and bad,” Yirkovsky said. “It’s an easy way out of a situation.”

WI-SCC acknowledges opposition to their cause.

Both Kaminski and Majkowski will be participating in an upcoming empty holster protest on campus in which students wear holsters outside of their clothes to show people that a concealed firearm is out of sight and therefore not a disturbance to others.

 

Avery Jehnke
Reporter
ajehn738@uwsp.edu