BUFFALO–The most heated argument during a candidate forum in Buffalo on Tuesday night didn’t come between two candidates running against each other, but rather, between one of the candidates and the county sheriff watching from the audience.
House District 40 Republican candidate Mark Jones and Johnson County Sheriff Rod Odenbach got into a surprising back-and-forth over the Second Amendment Protection Act (SAPA) and Prohibit Red Flag Gun Seizure Act, two laws passed by the Wyoming Legislature in 2022 and 2024 that Jones supported as a lobbyist for Gun Owners of America.
“No one works any harder to protect the rights of law-abiding people while protecting law enforcement officer’s ability to do their job than I did,” Jones said.
The exchange occurred when Odenbach rose from the crowd and spoke to the candidates during a public comment period of the forum, saying he wanted to address law enforcement issues that had been raised.
Odenbach criticized these bills and said they make it harder for Wyoming law enforcement officers to do their jobs.
What the bills do is enact various Second Amendment protections for Wyoming residents that prevent an officer of the state from seizing their firearms and accessories based on a federal guideline.
The SAPA law, which Jones lobbied extensively on, states that public officers are prohibited from enforcing, administering, or cooperating with an unconstitutional act of any kind, and it comes with a misdemeanor fine of up to $2,000 and a possible jail sentence of up to one year for those found guilty of violating it.
The Red Flag law says no local government, agency or police department can enforce any rule that keeps a Wyoming resident from firearms or ammunition unless that gun owner meets certain criteria. It also bans the use of money from Wyoming or the federal government to implement red-flag gun seizures.
The two sitting legislators at Tuesday’s forum, Reps. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, and Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan, each supported these bills. They are running against each other in Senate District 22.
Although he voted to support the bills, Crago said isn’t a fan of their associated penalties.
“I don’t want to live in a place where no one wants to sign up to be a deputy or cop because of the penalties they’re going to be facing for just doing their job,” he said.
The Red Flag law doesn’t come with a criminal penalty but does contain civil penalties that can cost up to $50,000 for each violation.
“It opens law enforcement guys up to civil liability for making a split-second decision,” Odenbach told Cowboy State Daily. “Law enforcement officers are not randomly going around and taking people’s firearms.”
As a result, he said, these laws cause law enforcement officers to become reactive rather than proactive out of a concern of being sued. Odenbach said his deputies always air on the side of public safety and common sense when making decisions, based on the information they have in front of them.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of good guys just trying to do the right thing,” Buffalo Police Chief Sean Bissett told Cowboy State Daily.
Accusations Made
During the forum, Odenbach accused Jones of not soliciting his input on the bills that he views as bad for law enforcement because of the penalties associated with them.
He made his remarks toward the end of the forum, when members of the public were allowed to ask questions of the candidate panel that included Crago, Jennings, Jones and fellow HD 40 contenders Marilyn Connolly and Liberty Poley.
“Am I allowed to respond to this or does the sheriff just get to stand up and pontificate?” Jones asked the moderators.
Odenbach started asking Jennings his next question before Jones cut him off.
“You're going to take a shot at me, I’m going to respond to it before you move on,” Jones said.
Jones called Odenbach “a heavy Crago supporter” and pointed out how Crago supported both bills the sheriff was complaining about. Odenbach told Cowboy State Daily he hasn’t endorsed any candidates this election cycle.
Gun Owners of America endorsed Odenbach’s opponent Paul Kozisek in the 2022 Republican primary for sheriff. Odenbach beat Kozisek by about 500 votes.
Jones said they endorsed Kozisek because Odebnach would not take their survey about red flag laws despite Jones giving him a three-week extension to respond.
“You’ve had a grudge against me ever since, but don’t you go blaming legislation that passed the Wyoming Legislature on Mark Jones,” Jones said.
He also said the sheriff’s claims aren’t true, and he did seek Odenbach’s opinion on how SAPA could be tailored to both protect Second Amendment rights and allow the sheriff’s deputies to do their jobs.
“I did come to your office with hat in hand,” Jones said.
Jones mentioned how he solicited input from the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police on SAPA, which supported that bill and also the final version of the red flag law that passed.
“Stop blaming it on me,” Jones said to Odenbach, his voice rising. “I’m a lobbyist, there’s 90 people in that Legislature.”
Odenbach then responded, “let’s be civil here,” which drew more irritation from Jones.
“Be honest, be honest,” Jones yelled.
Odenbach replied that he is honest, to which Jones said, “no you’re not.”
“You be honest,” Odenbach responded to Jones.
Odenbach said just because his association takes a certain position on a bill doesn’t mean that every one of its members agrees with it.
“We all have different opinions,” he said.
Although the red flag law only has a civil penalty attached to it, Odenbach worries that those who supported it want to add a criminal penalty to it in the future, like SAPA.
“That’s their ultimate goal,” he said.
Bissett came to Wyoming from Baltimore, Md. While there, several officers were killed in the line of duty, including his best friend.
The gun laws Odenbach brought up not only made officers less safe, he said, it makes them hesitant to do their jobs because of the law’s sanctions.
The judicial doctrine of qualified immunity protects law enforcement and other government officials from civil liability for misconduct, even when they break the law.
Removing qualified immunity, which Bissett worries could happen in Wyoming in the future, as it makes it harder for him to recruit officers.
Those who do join on have to worry about personal insurance costs to protect themselves from potential civil liabilities down the road.
“They could lose their house,” he said.
Krinkee Vote
During the forum, Odenbach also criticized Jennings’ initial vote against offering additional pension support for the family of slain Sheridan Police Department Sgt. Nevada Krinkee. Krinkee was killed in the line of duty in February while serving a warrant.
On Tuesday, Jennings responded that he originally voted against the budget amendment because it would have affected the estates of dead people and amounted to a special law, two acts the Wyoming Constitution specifically forbids in the creation of legislation.
“I have an obligation, I lifted my hand, raised, and swore an oath to this constitution,” Jennings said.
Although he’s right that the amendment was inspired by one person, Jennings’ argument ignores the fact it would have applied to all law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty moving forward from Jan. 1, 2024.
Jennings also never brought up his constitutional concerns when the bill was discussed on the House floor on Feb. 22. What he did argue was that he didn’t “have the right to take money from my other constituents to pay into a tragic event.”
The original proposal was built into the budget, which Jennings also felt was inappropriate. He also thought it was too limited in its scope and gave preference to law enforcement officers over other public workers who encounter grave risks like Wyoming Department of Transportation snow plow drivers.
Odenbach told Cowboy State Daily he doesn’t find this to be an equitable comparison.
“There’s not a lot of jobs where you show up to work knowing you could die that day,” he said.
Jennings later ended up voting to support the spousal increase when it was included in a standalone bill and the spousal benefits expanded further, but otherwise it was the exact same proposal.
“I voted for it when it was put in the proper place and when it was broadened out to actually cover more than one person,” he said.
Other Fireworks
There was another moment of brief contention when Crago expressed frustration about being handed a sheet outlining some of his votes when entering the forum at the Johnson County Library, that read “Vote Mark Jennings for Senate” at the bottom.
“Come call me, come knock on my door, I’ll explain every one of my votes and I’m proud of all my votes,” Crago said. “And I’m dang sure I’m not going to hand out a flier about my opponent as he walks in the door either.”
Crago said he’s a candidate who speaks truthfully and with integrity.
This drew outrage from Sheridan resident Ronnie LeBlanc, who interrupted the forum to clarify that it was he who handed Crago the paper.
“He didn’t do that Rep. Crago, I did, so don’t blame it on Rep. Jennings,” LeBlanc said, to which Crago told him to sit down.
A moderator then also chided LeBlanc and told him to sit down, to which he did.
There was also some brief tension between Jones and Poley when Poley criticized the SAPA bill. She cited a report from the Tenth Amendment Center that a bill brought by Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, was better and would have protected Wyoming’s states rights.
Jones responded that the people who run the Tenth Amendment Center work out of their basements, implying they do not understand law enforcement.
Throughout the evening, Jennings implored the voters to look at his voting record as a way to differentiate between him and Crago.
“Absolutely, we have different voting records,” Jennings said. “Elections are about contrast. I wholeheartedly agree that transparency is the way to do this.”
Crago didn’t disagree, citing his efforts to pass a 4% property tax cap, prevent mineral development around the veterans home in Buffalo, and continue funding for Wyoming’s small towns and mental health services.
“I don’t take my talking points from the national news or some national group,” he said to the audience. “I take my advice from all of you.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
