A hunting rifle.
Several state lawmakers introduced legislation in the 2023-25 session to close the loophole.
The Dec. 16 shooting at Abundant Life Christian School prompted questions about how old one must be to possess a firearm in Wisconsin.
Possession of handguns by minors, like the one used by the 15-year-old shooter, is illegal under federal law. But rifles and shotguns, in Wisconsin, are a different story. As tested in Kyle Rittenhouse’s 2021 trial, Wisconsin statutes currently permit the possession of rifles and shotguns by minors.
“The statute says you can have possession of a rifle or shotgun as long as they are…not a short barreled weapon,” says John Gross, a University of Wisconsin law professor who specializes in criminal law.
Legislators wrote the statute to ensure 14-17 year-olds could hunt with parental supervision. In effect, however, the law allows minors to legally possess firearms if they are long barrelled. Gross says the exemption was drafted poorly and created an unintended loophole.
Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison), agrees that the exemption “was genuinely an unintentional loophole.” Though a strong supporter of Wisconsin’s “hunting heritage,” Subeck says she supports revising the law to close the so-called Rittenhouse loophole.
“This happens a lot with laws,” Subeck says. “We often, years later, have to go back and fix something, because at the time something was drafted, nobody thought of it, right?”
Though Democrats, including Subeck, introduced legislation in 2021 and 2023 to close the loophole, the bills never received a committee hearing. Bipartisan interest in the revision is unclear; neither Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) nor Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) responded to a request for comment.
