Gun-rights group taking Green Bay to court

• Records request followed incident at Wednesday farmers market%2C group says
• City attorney says %27guidance%27 to police covered by attorney-client privilege
• Same group earlier sued Ashwaubenon and Madison

A group promoting gun owner rights in Wisconsin is suing the city of Green Bay in a dispute that stems from restrictions on guns inside a popular farmers market.

Wisconsin Carry Inc. has asked a judge in Brown County Circuit Court to order Green Bay city officials to relinquish public records that might indicate whether the city has a policy on carrying guns in the open.

The same group previously sued Ashwaubenon and Madison after both municipalities arrested individuals suspected of improperly carrying guns in public.

Nik Clark, president of Wisconsin Carry Inc., said a member of the organization complained this summer after he was told he couldn't open-carry a gun in a Green Bay downtown farmers market. Police officers told him that guns were not permitted at the Wednesday evening event, Clark said.

Afterward, Wisconsin Carry asked the city police department for copies of any procedures or directives on the subject. The department declined, citing attorney-client confidentiality.

Clark said his group decided to file suit because, he said, Green Bay residents have a right to know their city government's policy on controlling open-carry of guns.

"It shouldn't be a cat-and-mouse game," he said.

City officials have not yet responded to the suit, which was filed Aug. 12.

Assistant City Attorney Jim Mueller noted that the case involves only a dispute over public records, and that Wisconsin Carry has not accused the city of violating any gun owner's rights.

Mueller acknowledged that the city attorney's office has provided "guidance" to the police department on open-carry of guns. But any such correspondence, he said, is exempt from disclosure under Wisconsin's open records law.

"The information requested is protected by attorney-client privilege," he said.

Wisconsin law allows people to openly carry guns in public, although property owners can prohibit guns in their buildings and organizers of special events can also set restrictions. The city does not have an ordinance specifically addressing open carry.

The farmers market, organized by the group On Broadway Inc., is held along Broadway each Wednesday in the summer and fall.

Clark said the farmers market does not qualify as a special event, noting that signs posted at the market indicate guns are prohibited. He called the gathering a public place where state law allows people to carry guns.

Lt. Chad Ramos, spokesman for the Green Bay Police Department, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The suit indicates that Wisconsin Carry had asked the police department for "any police memos, communications, emails, policies and procedures pertaining to citizen carry of firearms" and specifically any records "distributed from the chief of police or supervisors to officers."

The suit seeks a judge's order for release of any such documents, along with unspecified damages.

Wisconsin Carry Inc., based in suburban Milwaukee, is a private group funded by members dues.

The organization filed suit against the city of Madison after police in 2010 arrested five men who had openly carried handguns inside a Culver's restaurant. Charges against all five suspects were later dropped, and the city agreed to pay them a combined $10,000 to settle the civil case out of court.

The group also filed suit against the village of Ashwaubenon in 2011 after police officers arrested a man suspected of improperly carrying a gun in his car. The suit sought public records related to the arrest, but it was dismissed and the criminal case against the man was dropped.

Another reason for suing Green Bay, Clark said, is to let people know that they can carry guns at the farmers market and that police cannot arrest them for it.

"I don't want to sue anybody," he said. "I want people's rights to be respected."

— swilliams@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @pgscottwilliams.

Correction: The Green Bay farmers market mentioned in an earlier version of this story was incorrect. The incident that sparked Wisconsin Carry lawsuit occurred at the Farmers Market on Broadway, which is held Wednesdays throughout the summer and fall.