FLORIDA FIREARMS – Law, Use & Ownership

  ConcealedCarry.com had the most information, they must have talked to WI D.O.J. “FL licenses issued or renewed on or after 08/01/2013, …. WI DOES NOT recognize FL licenses with the prefixes of W, WJ, WR, WX, or WY. “ (From WI DOJ, I was told W is the typical resident license, WJ is judicial, WR is retired Law enforcement, and I couldn’t find anything on WX or WY, FL Div. Of Licensing was no help).  
  Handgunlaw.com has the same result as FL Div. Of Licensing and the WI Dept. of Justice.  “Permit honored in Wisconsin with special conditions: Florida license issued or renewed to Non-Residents on or after 08/01/2013.”  This raises the question, “What about FL Residents?  Surely they aren’t excluding us!”.  I decided to make some phone calls and this is where it gets disturbing.

  On 12/19/22, I called FL Div. Of Licensing-CWFL and inquired about FL Resident CWFL as it appears to be omitted from the reciprocity statement.  The lady I talked to assured me “ Florida has reciprocity with Florida”.  I referred to what the WI-DOJ, FL-DOL-CWFL, concealedcarry.com, and handgunlaw.us had on their sites and that it only mention Non-Resident CWFL. She put me on hold for a moment and when she came back I was again assured FL had reciprocity with WI and that I could conceal carry in WI. 

  On 12/20, I contacted WI Dept. Of Justice and asked the same question.  The gentleman stated “We get this call a couple times a week.  Only FL Non-Resident permit holders have reciprocity with WI”.  He stated, by my best recollection, that WI-DOJ sends questionnaires annually to all states that issue concealed carry permits.  Based upon the feedback they get, WI determines which states meet their requirements.  He mentioned WI requires a criminal background check AND a N.I.C.S.  Apparently, FL doesn’t do both when they issue a CWFL.  He also mentioned that Florida CWFLs with a prefix of W, WJ, WR, WX, or WY are not honored in WI.

    Now what I found that really disturbed me.  I called back FL-DOL that same day and told them what I had found and asked to speak to a supervisor.  After a couple of minutes I was forwarded to “Joe” an “Instructor”.  I told him of the contradictory information I received from WI-DOJ and that Florida is informing their residents that they are good to go.  I asked if ‘someone’ could contact the WI-DOJ and get this straightened out.  He informed me that it was on WI to contact FL, and they (FL) would not initiate contact.  I said in the meantime, Florida residents would be unwittingly be violating WI law by carrying in WI and it would be due to misinformation given by FL-DOL-CWFL.  I was again told WI would have to contact FL with that determination.  I asked if he wasn’t concerned that FL could be exposed to lawsuits arising from their department giving out incorrect information to Florida residents that subsequently were arrested.  He said that they could sue Wisconsin.  

    I’m embarrassed to say what my parting remarks were regarding the “Not my job, man” attitude, and the apparent lack of concern for the well being of Florida residents that would concealed carry in Wisconsin unaware that they are breaking the law.  I really don’t know what to do about all this. I am very frustrated to say the least.  I really don’t expect you to take this on, but if you could confirm what I have found out, and if valid, warn your readers, then this frustrating episode would not be for nothing.

  I’ve been a reader of “Florida Firearms Law, Use, & Ownership” since the late 1990’s and it is my go to for information.