Gun Bills To Come Before Wyoming Lawmakers This Session

A pair of bills dealing with where concealed firearms can be carried will come before the Wyoming Legislature this session.

House Bill 137 would allow people to carry concealed weapons into governmental meetings ranging from the legislature to local city council and county commission meetings. Similar bills have been put forward in the past few sessions of the legislature, but have failed to win final approval despite fairly strong support, especially in the state house' which has passed such bills.

House Bill 136 would allow concealed weapons to be carried onto college campuses and to collegiate sporting events.

Wyoming doesn't require a concealed carry permit, but current state law does prohibit carrying firearms to most governmental meetings, into public schools or onto college campuses. The law does make exceptions for members of law enforcement.

Supporters of the bills argue that allowing members of the public to be armed improves public safety since armed terrorists or criminals will have to face the prospect of people shooting back at them in the case of an attack.

Supporters of the current restrictions say the laws are simply a common-sense way to prevent mass shootings. They also argue there is no reason for people to carry firearms into a city council meeting or the state legislature, for example.