Milwaukee gun range voluntarily reports law-abiding customers to local police (purchase, firearm)

[lifelongMOgal]

Having spoken with members of WCI who frequent Brew City Shooters Supply, though they were aware they signed a liability release to use the range, they were NOT aware in any way that their use of the range was being reported to West Milwaukee Police Department.

Milwaukee gun range voluntarily reports law-abiding customers to local police

From the limited info. in the story it doesn't sound as though customers were made aware that their information would be turned in to law enforcement for a background check.

Unconsented background checks smells an aweful lot to me like a civil lawsuit in the making. Any training event, certification or permitting which has required a background check in which I've been involved has always stated it up front and center that by sending in the application the individual was giving consent.

Thanks for the "heads up". This should be an interesting story to follow.

Originally Posted by ovcatto

Perhaps if you read the original story instead of the mash-up of a rehash...

As a private club he has the right to run background checks on potential members just as any employer has a right to do a criminal background check on potential employees.


West Milwaukee gun shop resumes selling weapons - JSOnline

Yes, they have a right to do background checks. However, this article fails to show if members were notified on the application that a background check would be conducted. The club I belong to makes it very clear that with every new member and renewal a background check will be run and when I send in my membership renewal I am giving them my consent to so do (in writing by signature).

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by ovcatto

Perhaps if you read the original story instead of the mash-up of a rehash...

As a private club he has the right to run background checks on potential members just as any employer has a right to do a criminal background check on potential employees.


West Milwaukee gun shop resumes selling weapons - JSOnline

I did read the article. If it's not illegal, it should be. If you are going to run a background check on me, you had best notify me and give me the option of whether I want one run or not. Of course, that is my opinion, just like you have yours.

As stated in the article" use of public resource to run background checks on law abiding citizens with no probable cause or reasonable suspicion whether those citizens were using a firing range, attending church, going to the grocery store, or stopping in a corner tavern for a cocktail."

I don't think it's right.

monkeywrenching - we have 15, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1000 yard ranges along with Silhouette range for 100, 200, and 500 (reduced size targets).

[monkeywrenching]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

monkeywrenching - we have 15, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1000 yard ranges along with Silhouette range for 100, 200, and 500 (reduced size targets).

thanks man, I really need to move. although I have no idea of where I would move to there.

[Bulldogdad]

If Wisconsin is an "Open Records" state then criminal records can be requested for anyone. If so then I doubt any laws were broken. However, I would never give my business to that Gun Range again.

[Happy in Wyoming]

The real problem here is the compiling of a list of people who shoot and who very likely own a number of guns. Only an antigun police department would do this. Only a gun dealer who has no interest in guns and no belief in the Second Amendment would cooperate.

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming

The real problem here is the compiling of a list of people who shoot and who very likely own a number of guns. Only an antigun police department would do this. Only a gun dealer who has no interest in guns and no belief in the Second Amendment would cooperate.

That is correct. But in an open records state you can compile a list of any group and do a background check as long as you didn't break any laws in the collection of their private identifying info.

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by Dd714

The legal or ethical principles are still in question if he did not notify the "members".

Well that's a big if isn't it. Neither story contains even a quote from a member much less a complaint other than the "we have "spoken" with members".

I don't deal in "likely"

I did some research as well. It seems the Milwaukee police have been coming down hard on this gun dealer for being a source of guns used by criminals, and/or claiming "strawman sales".

How much research did you have to do, that was established in the original story linked to on the site. By the way, it was the former owner, not the current one.

I think it's more likely that the local Milwakee police cheif is not gun-friendly and wanted to enforce his own type of gun regulations, regardless of the rules of privacy and civil liberties.

There's that likely word again.

There was probably some extortion-like agreement with the owner and police cheif, as in, "you give me names of all your customers and I will let you sell guns again".

Where is the ACLU in these type cases?

Who needs the FBI, it is a clear violation of It is a violation of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact for non-criminal offender background checks using Federal data bases. All you need is a Federal Attorney.

[ovcatto]

[quote=lifelongMOgal;25475894]

this article fails to show if members were notified on the application that a background check would be conducted.

The article also fails to provide a single quote or named customer who has issued a complaint or has called into the question the process, so my initial reaction is that this is a story in search of an outrage.

[iknowftbll]

Originally Posted by ovcatto

The article also fails to provide a single quote or named customer who has issued a complaint or has called into the question the process, so my initial reaction is that this is a story in search of an outrage.

Not necessarily. How do you know that the story writers even sought out any of the customers whose information was turned over to the authorities? Sloppy journalism is becoming the norm more-so than than the exception.

[arctichomesteader]

There might be complaints by customers now that they actually know what has happened.

Milwaukee is the same city where the police chief said the police would arrest anyone open carrying, back when open carry was the only legal method in WI, despite their courts upholding it as a right.