Wyoming is one of the 29 permitless carry states, so as long as you can lawfully possess a gun you can generally lawfully carry it as well. A new bill introduced in the state legislature, however, would allow some gun owners to bear arms in a couple of places that are currently off-limits to legal gun owners.
Senate File 37, introduced by Republican state Sen. Ed Cooper, creates a new “enhanced” carry permit available to those lawful gun owners who’ve undergone a minimum of eight hours of firearms training and passed a live-fire test. Once someone has obtained an enhanced permit, they’d be free to carry on K-12 school grounds as well as college campuses.
Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, the bill’s sponsor, said the idea for this bill was brought to him by a “really strong gun advocate” from the Bighorn Basin. Concealed carry is currently not permitted in Wyoming public school districts, although some school boards adopted policies that allow teachers to concealed carry in the classroom.
The constituent told the representative he wanted to be able to concealed carry when he drops his son off at school, Cooper said. If a person with a concealed-carry permit shot somebody on school campus, they’d still be arrested under current Wyoming statute.
… One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said she seriously deliberated whether she wanted to sign on to the bill. It made more sense to allow teachers, whom the students and school employees know and trust, to carry a gun on campus in case of a school shooter, Schuler told the WTE. If a random concealed-carrying person were to take out their gun against the shooter, it could create a lot of confusion for law enforcement.
“Who’s to know that he’s not the shooter?” Schuler said.
At the same time, she understood parents’ concerns about their ability to protect their own child on campus, and she thought this bill could be a compromise. Schuler said the bill’s specific requirements for firearms training appealed to her the most.
“If someone is willing to go through all of this to be able to carry into a school district, then you know, we want, ultimately, our kids to be safe,” Schuler said. “I would at least feel better about the safety issue with someone that has gone through some training like our teachers have.”
While SF 37 would allow for some folks to legally carry in these educational facilities, it’s not as expansive as a House bill that was vetoed by Gov. Mark Gordon last year; one that supporters in the legislature’s Freedom Caucus have vowed to bring back in the 2025 session. HB 125, known as the “Repeal Gun-Free Zones Act”, would have simply repealed the prohibition on lawful carry in government meetings, including the state legislature, while allowing those with a current Wyoming carry permit to bear arms in K-12 and higher education facilities.
Gordon’s veto was reviled by lawmakers who passed the legislation, including those who used serious legislative maneuvering to keep the bill alive. They accused Gordon of flawed reasoning and said residents should have the right to carry firearms into most public places to protect themselves and others, especially from mass shootings.
“We know that this right comes from our Creator, not from the government, and that government (no matter how ‘local’) cannot take away something that it cannot grant,” the Freedom Caucus stated in a press release. “Government exists to protect your inalienable rights, not negotiate the terms under which they will be surrendered.
The House Freedom Caucus made some major gains in last month’s elections and should be in control of both House and Senate leadership next session, so it will be interesting to see how much traction Cooper’s bill receives compared to a revived HB 125.
The GOP supermajority will have to wrestle with the particulars, but the good news is that campus carry in both K-12 and higher education settings is almost certain to become law in Wyoming next year, and that would be a major victory for gun owners and Second Amendment advocates in the state.
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