Wisconsin Reckless or Unlawful Use of Weapons

Question: Can you discuss the charge of reckless or unlawful use of weapons in Wisconsin?

Answer: There are a few laws in Wisconsin, which are meant to deal with reckless or negligent use of weapons. For example, there’s endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon through negligent operation or handling. That is using a firearm or any device capable of producing death or great bodily harm where the operation or even just the handling of that weapon created a risk of death or great bodily harm; the risk was unreasonable and substantial; and the person should have known that that risk was there when they were behaving in that way. There is a separate crime, which is you can be charged with endangering safety by intentionally pointing a firearm at another person. There’s a few others that relate to discharge of a weapon within a hundred yards of a building if you don’t have permission of the owner of the building; intentional discharge of a firearm into a vehicle or a building; and discharging a firearm from a vehicle into or towards a person, building or vehicle. And all of those things are prohibited.