Skip to content

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022

Did the Wisconsin Supreme Court rule that people with misdemeanor convictions involving domestic abuse can get concealed carry gun permits?


yes

In May 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Doubeck v. Kaul that people with misdemeanor disorderly conduct convictions can obtain concealed carry gun permits — even when the incidents involve domestic violence. 

According to federal law, people convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” are not allowed to possess a gun. In intrepreting this statute, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found that a disorderly conduct conviction in Wisconsin is not equivalent since there are non-violent types of disorderly conduct. State law defines it as “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance."

The court's ruling was unanimous, but in a concurring opinion, liberal Justice Jill Karofsky urged the Wisconsin State Legislature to close what she called a "dangerous loophole" in the state law that produced the case. 

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Learn More

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.