Self defense leads to new law

I keep abreast of legal matters with concealed carry and other Second Amendment issues. I found this and we have some good news from Yankee Land!

Milwaukee bar owner’s self-defense struggle leads to Second Amendment win

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Watchdog

MILWAUKEE — It was a warm summer night. The front doors of Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall on Milwaukee’s 37th St. were wide open to let in the night air.

As the final two patrons finished up their last round in the beer garden just before midnight on Aug. 15, 2013, three men wandered in.

They were up to no good....

...Andy Kochanski, owner of the popular nightspot, said the men were heading toward his patrons. One yelled, “This is a robbery! Get your money out!”

“The first guy had his hands in his pockets, the other two had visible weapons out,” Kochanski recalled in an interview Tuesday with Wisconsin Watchdog.

“The one guy with a gun locked eyes with me. As he was raising his weapon at me he was saying, “Don’t do it! Don’t do it!’ I got my gun out faster than he did. They all started scrambling around. I anticipated return fire so I started targeting at all of them. One guy went down. The other two started to head for the door. I stopped shooting when the door closed,” the bar owner said...

No good guys injured, bad guy down, this story has a good ending so far, but there are issues that come up.

...Milwaukee County prosecutors shortly after the incident said Kochanski acted in self-defense and in defense of his patrons.

But police seized his gun at the scene and it took him 7 ½ months to get it back...

I get it, justice is slow, but this is rediculus.

...On Tuesday, nearly two years after Kochanski’s gun was seized, Assembly Bill 13 passed on a voice vote. It now heads to the Senate.

The bill mandates the return of property to those who have been cleared of charges in connection with the seizure of a firearm or ammunition. It creates a timeline for the entire process, ensuring that individuals will no longer be subjected to long wait times for the return of their property.

It’s not 48 hours, but the bill does set a maximum of 35 business days for the return of a weapon seized in such cases.

Gun owners cleared of criminal wrongdoing may petition the court, and within 20 business days the court must schedule a hearing into the matter. Within five business days after the hearing, the court has to come to a decision. If the judge determines the weapon must be returned, the law enforcement entity involved in the investigation is required to do so within 10 business days.

“Cleaning up the firearm return process is something that is necessary here in Wisconsin,” said state Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, author of the bill. “Law-abiding citizens have been unjustly penalized by the criminal justice system for too long. Today, we took a step to right that wrong by clarifying the return of property to its lawful owner....”

Good to hear this incident led to better law. I can understand the time if it was still part of an open investigation, but if the man is cleared there is no reason to hold his property. Good work Wisconsin legislature. Now if you could get some decent beer up there! :<)

Some people call it beer!