The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled on July 31 that the state may not require foster parents to keep firearms unloaded as a condition of a foster-home license. In Lafferty v. Pertl, appeal No. 2025AP414, the District II panel held that the unloaded-storage provision violated the Second Amendment and Article I, Section 25 of the Wisconsin Constitution. The court reversed a Washington County circuit-court order and remanded the case with instructions.

A renewal dispute that began in 2020

Brian and Katie Lafferty received their first foster-home license in 2016 and renewed it twice. When they sought renewal in 2020, Washington County required a separate form that prohibited a foster parent with a concealed-carry license from carrying in the presence of foster children, except during organized hunting outings. The form also required an itemized list of firearms, their storage locations, and the separate location of ammunition. The Laffertys challenged those conditions in state court.

The circuit court granted summary judgment to state and county officials. It also denied the Laffertys' request for a protective order against a discovery demand seeking the make, model, caliber, purchase year, and current ownership status of every firearm they had owned since becoming licensed foster parents. The couple supplied the information under court order, then appealed both the judgment and the discovery ruling.