More than 30 Wyoming legislators sign on to bill to repeal most gun-free zones, override local laws

The most significant aspect of the bill might be its level of support. Nearly half of the Senate – 13 members – have signed on as co-sponsors, as well as 23 members of the 60-person House.

According to the bill text, the legislation would preempt bans on firearms in all public schools – including on public university and college campuses – governmental meetings and athletic events, both college and professional.

The bill would not, however, preempt private property rights, like in places of worship or in a big box store that chose to ban them as policy, nor would it impact any restrictions currently outlined in the state’s existing concealed carry law.

The bill, said the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, was drafted in response to a number of recent, high-profile cases on public entities limiting where firearms could be carried, including at the University of Wyoming and in Lander.

Bouchard is the former director of the hardline gun rights group Wyoming Gun Owners and was the subject of a highly publicized run-in with students at the University of Wyoming in spring 2017 over their gun reform presentation. He said that recent efforts by local governments and public entities like UW have tempered conservative members of the Legislature, who believe those entities are infringing on Wyomingites’ constitutional rights.

“I think the anti-gun crowd has kind of kicked the hornet’s nest a little bit,” said Bouchard. “This is an enumerated right that needs to be protected. The number of sponsors shows some movement in that direction.”

As proposed, the bill would bring Wyoming law in line with that of neighboring states like Utah, whose gun laws only restrict the carry of firearms in courthouses, mental health facilities, places of worship that ban firearms and secure areas of airports, as well as areas where the carry of arms is prohibited by federal law.

“They’ve been doing it for 20 years, and it works,” said Bouchard.

University impact

The bill also clarifies that only the Wyoming Legislature could create gun regulations or legislation in specific language, a legal technicality that has been used to uphold a gun ban on UW’s campus in the past.

Allowing residents to carry weapons on school campuses has been a contentious and frequent topic both in Wyoming and across the nation for years. But in the wake of two deadly high school shootings last year, the debate around school safety has picked up with renewed vigor. Two Wyoming education-related committees considered school security improvements in recent months, with one sponsoring a piece of legislation that would institute training and other security measures.

Two years ago, the Legislature passed a bill that allows school districts to decide whether to allow willing and trained staff to carry weapons. That same year, the Senate killed a House bill that would have allowed for lawful conceal and carry on college campuses. Casper College’s board opposed the measure, as did the leaders of the other six community colleges and the University of Wyoming.

Wyoming Education Association President Kathy Vetters said she didn’t support the bill. She said that it takes power away from the school boards that were previously given the authority to decide who can carry weapons in their buildings.

“I just don’t believe that guns belong in schools with children,” Vetter said, adding that she was a supporter of gun ownership.

Meredith Asay, the university’s point-person for legislation, said she wasn’t prepared to comment as she had just seen the bill after it posted Thursday morning and was beginning to review it. Chris Lorenzen, the spokesman for Casper College, likewise said he hadn’t seen the legislation Thursday afternoon.