Firearms Surrender in CPO Cases: The Wisconsin Project

Wisconsin recently enacted legislation intended to ensure that respondents subject to protection orders comply with the firearm surrender requirements. Under Wisconsin law, respondents subject to a domestic abuse or child abuse injunction are automatically required to surrender the firearms they own or possess. Wisconsin created a protocol to assist the courts and law enforcement with enforcing state and federal firearms surrender laws. In 2010 Wisconsin conducted a pilot in 4 Wisconsin counties to test the protocol. This protocol was signed in to law in April, 2014. This session will provide an overview of the Wisconsin process for effectively enforcing firearm surrender in civil protection order cases and a step by step model to help other states tailor and adopt similar practices to better enforce firearm surrender laws.