Five Day Waiting Period to Get Married

Handgun Purchases Easier Than Marriage?

By Doug Dalager

Waiting Period to Get Married

Did you know there is a five-day waiting period before you can legally be married in Wisconsin? Also, the day you apply is not included in the waiting period.

If your fifth day lands on a weekend or a holiday, your license will be issued for the next business day. You may have to wait six or seven days if you don’t plan ahead.

Susan Sandvick, Douglas County Clerk, can waive the waiting period at her discretion. However, if she grants a waiver, you’ll have to pay an additional $25 for increased processing costs. The $25 fee can also be waived for military members.

Marriage licenses are valid for 30 days after the date of issuance, and the marriage must be performed within that period. Apparently, spur of the moment “shotgun weddings” are illegal in Wisconsin unless at least one participant is in uniform!

No Waiting Period to Buy Handguns

Governor Scott Walker signed a law on June 24, 2015 repealing Wisconsin’s 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases. Supporters claim this makes buying a gun more convenient (apparently, when you need a gun, you need it now!)

Opponents of the law fear it will lead to increased violence. Wisconsin Democrats attempted to reinstate the ban to no avail in October of 2015.

Our state bureaucracy means business when it comes to making it easier for you to arm yourself. The Wisconsin Firearms Unit is operational seven days a week, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ironically, you can purchase a pistol seven days a week (provided your background check goes through without a hitch,) but you cannot get hitched unless you wait for five days. Oh yeah, you need to visit the Courthouse Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. They don’t work weekends.

File this one under “things that make you go, hmmmm.” 

If Wisconsin Republicans were serious about the defense of marriage act, you would think you could get a marriage license any old time…but no!

Wisconsin Gun Laws Lenient

By contrast, Wisconsin has some of the most lenient laws in the country regarding firearm possession. Licensing, training programs and psychological tests are not required, Also, Wisconsin’s state constitution specifies the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms, in more specific wording than the United States Constitution.

Wisconsin complies with federal regulations requiring background checks. Previously, Wisconsin was exempt from imposing the 5-day requirement since it already had a 48-hour waiting period in place when the Brady Bill became law.

The elimination of the 48 hour waiting period means that immediately upon notification of an approval number from the Firearms Unit of the Department of Justice indicating that the purchaser has successfully passed their background check, the handgun may be transferred to their possession. It can take up to five days for the background check to go through.

June Wedding Anyone?

The moral to this story is that if you still want to have a June wedding, you’d best get yourself down to the County Courthouse very quickly or you won’t make the five day waiting period.

Never fear, if this sends you into a murderous rage, if you’ve passed a background check you can probably buy a pistol today!

You can’t make this stuff up…

Just for fun, here are some videos taken at a some Pakistani and Saudi weddings. When weddings and guns come together you’ve got the beginning of a great celebration!

Check out the “dollar dance” at 2:11 of the first video…now there’s motivation for us pansy Americans to become more adventurous in our wedding traditions.