Cheyenne Mayor Applauds Gun Bill Failure

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen says he is glad a bill in the state legislature that would have allowed people to carry concealed firearms into government meetings won't become law.

House Bill 86 passed the state house on a 50-10 vote. But it died in the Senate without a vote because it didn't meet the deadline for being reported out of committee on Friday.

Mayor Kaysen, who has been a vocal critic of similar bills in the state legislature over the last few years, said Monday "We can still conduct city business for the city of Cheyenne without having to have guns or weapons in our chambers."

The mayor has said on several occasions over the last few years that while he supports the Second Amendment he doesn't see why anyone needs to carry a gun into a public meeting.

Supporters of House Bill 86, such as Rep. Kendell Kroeker (R-Evansville) argued the bill would let people defend themselves against armed attackers.

They often would cite the high number of mass shootings in "gun free" zones across the country as proof that firearms restrictions create appealing target areas because people can't defend themselves against an armed attack.