Wyoming Senate Approves Bill Repealing Most Gun Free Zones

The Wyoming Senate has signed off on a bill to repeal most gun-free zones.

The Wyoming House has already approved House Bill 172. The bill would allow people to carry firearms into governmental meetings and buildings, public schools, college campuses and most other areas that can now be classified as gun-free zones.

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That would include the state Capitol Building and meetings of the legislature and city and county governmental buildings across the state

While anyone who can legally carry firearms under Wyoming law could carry a concealed weapon into some of those areas, because of federal law a person would need a concealed firearms permit to carry a gun into public schools or college campuses.

Amendment To Let School Boards Decide Put Forward

On Friday, Sen.  Brian Boner put forward an amendment that would allow local school boards to decide whether to allow members of the public to carry guns into schools, assuming they are permit holders. His proposal would not prevent school staff from carrying guns in school.

Boner pointed put that school boards can already decide whether to allow district employees to carry guns. His proposal would have extended that decision making authority to being over the public as well.

But Sen. Tim Salazar [R-Fremont County] argued the amendment would effectively kill the bill. Sen. John Kolb [ R-Sweetwater County] said ''This bill is basically to put doubt in people's heads that they can go in there and kill folks within our schools with impunity. This is the unknown, that there may be someone in there with concealed carry.'' He said the amendment would kill a critical part of the bill.

Boner's amendment was defeated 18-13.

The bill was approved on a 25-6 vote, Here is how they voted:

Ayes: Barlow, Boner, Brennan, Cooper, Crago, Crum, Dockstader, Driskill, French, Hicks, Hutchings, Ide, Jones, Kolb, Laursen, McKeown, Landen, Nethercott, Olsen, Pearson, Salazar, Scott, Smith, Steinmetz, Biteman
Nays: Anderson, Case, Gierau, Pappas, Rothfuss, Schuler

The bill has now been sent back to the House to allow Representatives to decide whether to approve changes in the bill made by the Senate. If the House doesn't concur, a Joint Conference Committee would try to hammer out a compromise that both houses of the legislature would support,

Governor Mark Gordon  vetoed a very similar bill last year, citing concerns over local control. Under Wyoming law the governor is not allowed to say whether he would veto a bill that is pending in the legislature.