UPDATE: Two Gun Bills Still Awaiting First Reading In Wyoming House
UPDATE: House Bills 136 and 137 were laid back on Wednesday in the Wyoming House and are still awaiting first reading on general file.
A pair of controversial gun bills are slated for general file in the Wyoming House of Representatives today,
House Bills 136 and 137 would allow people to carry concealed weapons onto Wyoming college campuses and into government meetings. House Bill 136 would also allow people to carry concealed firearms to college sporting events in addition to on campus.
HB 137 would allow them at government meetings ranging from local city council hearings to the Wyoming Legislature. Both bills passed the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Similar bills have been introduced into the Wyoming Legislature over the past few years but have never won final approval. Supporters argue the the bills would make the public safer by giving people the ability to defend themselves against an armed attack. Opponents, such as former Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen, who is now Director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) argue there is no reason to carry a firearm into a public meeting.
UW Vice-President Chris Boswell has likewise expressed concerns about guns at sporting events. Today's general file reading would be the first of three readings in the house, assuming the bills are not laid back.
If the measures pass all three readings in the house they would then move on to the state senate.