CHEYENNE — If it holds up, people will be able to concealed carry firearms in some areas of the Wyoming Capitol under a draft rule passed Wednesday by the State Building Commission.
The rule was proposed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and State Auditor Kristi Racines and would allow concealed carry of firearms in certain parts of the Wyoming Capitol complex. People now are not allowed to conceal carry firearms in any part of the Capitol.
The state’s top five elected officials who make up the SBC, Gov. Mark Gordon, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, Degenfelder, Racines and State Treasurer Curt Meier, unanimously approved the draft rule that allows unlimited concealed carry in parts of the capitol that the SBC has jurisdiction over.
"The Second Amendment is exceptionally clear — the right to bear arms 'shall not be infringed,' and this includes our people's House,” Degenfelder said in a press release. “I am proud of the amendment Auditor Racines and I brought to the SBC.”
Their rule would allow concealed carry of firearms by all citizens on certain areas of state property, regardless of whether they have a concealed carry permit. This aligns with current Wyoming law for concealed carry in public spaces that aren’t gun-free zones.
Racines told Cowboy State Daily that although the rule may not be as extensive as people like Gray may have liked, it’s an important first step in the regulatory process.
“It’s a small step admittedly, but a concrete step forward,” she said. “To me, this first step had to happen to have the Legislature come to the table to do their part.”
Gray told Cowboy State Daily although he agrees the draft rule is a step in the right direction, he doesn’t believe it goes far enough and is “an attempt to dither and delay real conservative reforms.”
As he did this summer Gray once again criticized Gordon’s veto of a bill this past spring that would have banned gun-free zones in Wyoming. Gray said the bill “would have ensured a uniform approach to protect our Second Amendment Rights and eliminate gun free zones across the state, which are soft targets.”
“It was also really disappointing to see the Governor continuing to dither and delay on this, make ad hominem attacks, and provide contradictory excuses about why we can't actually address the full issue,” Gray said.
In his veto letter, Gordon argued the Legislature superseded its authority in House Bill 125 to areas of the Capitol it didn’t have jurisdiction over. Jurisdiction at the Capitol is a surprisingly complicated topic, with the Legislature maintaining control over most parts of the Capitol building, but in certain areas only during a legislative session.
Gray’s Amendment
During Wednesday’s discussion, Gray brought his own more expansive amendment to allow for concealed and constitutional carry in public spaces of the Herschler Building as well, which includes the offices for his department, the departments of education, health and revenue, state treasurer and state auditor’s offices. Gray’s motion failed to receive a second and thus was unanimously rejected by the other members of the board.
Racines said there were a number of flaws with this amendment, which wasn’t presented until the start of the meeting.
First, as written, she said, Gray’s amendment would have only applied to public areas in the Herschler building, which she found too limiting.
Second, she believed it would have disproportionately treated certain state office buildings differently from others, not only around the state, but also those located just a few blocks away from the Herschler building. For instance, the Department of Health maintains a small office in the Herschler building but its main office is located in the Hathaway Building about a block away.
“I want to make sure not just employees of the elected get to enjoy this,” Racines said.
Racines said she wants to meet with state department heads and bring forward a new rule after addressing buildings she believes should and shouldn’t have concealed carry.
The approved rules will now go out for a 45-day public comment period. After that, SBC will vote to approve the rules as written or amend them.
In their press release, Racines and Degenfelder said they will next pursue a repeal or legislative override of a 2001 executive order brought by former Gov. Jim Geringer prohibiting executive branch employees and officials from carrying deadly weapons on state premises and changing rules for state office buildings.
How Would It Work?
Degenfelder and Racines’ rule would apply to the Capitol Extension hallway, but not the rooms within this hallway that host many legislative committee meetings. Those rooms, other parts of the Capitol and the two chambers of the Wyoming Legislature are under the purview of the legislative body, so the rule passed on Wednesday would not apply to any of those areas.
Although it may seem like a relatively small area, the hallway sees extensive foot traffic during the legislative session and often serves as a place for groups or lobbyists to meet.
Under the draft rules, security personnel at the Capitol can still request proof of residency, age, or status of a lawful permit from anyone carrying a firearm. They’re also allowed to confiscate firearms from people “for failure to comply with applicable law or regulation or unsafe behavior.” In this scenario, the weapon is to be returned to its owner upon their departure from the building, unless law enforcement has probable cause to detain them or their weapon.
A person who carries a concealed firearm in the Capitol is also solely responsible for any injury or property damage involving the firearm.
The administrator of the Construction Management division of the State Construction Department can also revoke a meeting permit at the Capitol from anyone who refuses to comply with an order from Capitol law enforcement to relinquish their firearm.
Public Comment Doesn’t Support
A total of 138 public comments were submitted on the new rules, with 87% expressing opposition. Many of those who commented said they don’t believe concealed carry of firearms is appropriate in the Capitol and that current rules on this matter are sufficient.
No one commented in person during Wednesday’s meeting.
Beth Howard, the Wyoming legislative lead for gun safety group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, was one of the people who submitted a comment before the meeting. She finds the proposal “egregious.”
“It’s egregious, it’s irresponsible,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “The public is opposed to it obviously just based on the volume of comments.”
Degenfelder said although she took the large number of public comments opposing the rules into consideration, she does “not believe it accurately reflects the broader Wyoming voters” and looks forward to reading the comments for the upcoming comment period.
Similarly, Racines said she read every single one of the 138 comments but remains unconvinced they represent the wishes of the greater Wyoming population. She said it’s not uncommon for certain political interests to flood public comments on a particular issue.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
