Bill To Eliminate Most Gun-Free Zones in Wyoming Filed

A bill that would eliminate most gun-free zones under Wyoming law has been filed for the upcoming session of the Wyoming Legislature.

You can read House Bill 125 here.

The bill would specify that anyone who can carry a concealed weapon in Wyoming could carry a gun into governmental meetings, including those of the legislature and local governmental meetings, such as city council and county commission meetings.

They could also carry guns into elementary or secondary schools as well as colleges and universities, and sporting events held on school grounds.

The bill would not prevent private property owners from banning firearms from their property.

Gun rights advocates have been trying for years to get similar legislation passed by the Wyoming Legislature, so far without final success. A similar bill last year, House Bill 105, missed a deadline for a first vote in the state House of Representatives after legislative leaders did not bring it up for consideration in time.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Haroldson [R-Laramie, Platte counties]. It's co-sponsored by Representative(s) Bear, Hornok, Knapp, Neiman, Ottman, Penn, Rodriguez-Williams, Smith, Strock, Ward, Winter, and Senator(s) Boner and Ide

The legislature is scheduled to convene in a 20-day budget session in Cheyenne on Monday, February 12.

Because it is a budget session, a two-thirds majority vote will be required to introduce non-budget bills, such as House Bill 125.

2022's Deadliest Wyoming County by Traffic Deaths

While car crashes can occur anywhere, some roads in Wyoming are more dangerous than others.

According to Wyoming Highway Patrol data, there were 117 fatal crashes in the Cowboy State in 2022 resulting in 133 deaths.

Of those fatal crashes, the majority (13.68%) occurred in Laramie County -- two in January, one in February, one in March, two in April, one in June, two in July, three in August, two in September, one in November, and one in December.

Sweetwater County saw the second most fatal crashes last year, 12, while Fremont and Lincoln counties each saw 10.

Albany and Park counties each recorded eight, and Campbell, Converse, and Natrona counties each tallied seven.

The deadliest 2022 crash in Laramie County took place on June 17 when two semis collided on Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne and immediately became engulfed in flames killing both drivers and a passenger.

Laramie County also saw two fatal crashes involving motorcyclists, two fatal crashes involving juveniles, and a fatal crash involving a pedestrian last year.

Below is the Wyoming Highway Patrol narrative of every fatal crash that occurred in Laramie County in 2022.

Gallery Credit: Joy Greenwald