With the repeal of Wyoming’s gun-free zones, it’s become one of only five states allowing people to carry concealed weapons in K-12 public schools without requiring special permission from school authorities.
Adults with concealed carry can take their firearms onto school grounds in Alabama, Oregon and Utah without needing prior clearance from licensed school administrators or school districts, according to information from Gun Owners of America (GOA).
New Hampshire prohibits only students from carrying concealed firearms in schools, with no mention of concealed carry permits, according to GOA.
Effective July 1, adults age 21 and older with concealed carry permits may also take their weapons into public schools in Wyoming, with the passage of House Bill 172.
Gov. Mark Gordon allowed the bill to pass into law without his signature late Thursday, while also expressing his opposition to it. In announcing his decision, he said the bill wasn’t about self-defense; rather, it was about legislators “grabbing power.”
Goron, like many who argued against HB 172, thinks that school weapons policies are best decided by school boards and districts at the local level.
A similar bill to repeal gun-free zones passed the Legislature last year, but Gordon vetoed it at the last minute.
So, What Changed?
Firearms already were allowed in Wyoming schools, but only under certain circumstances.
Some school districts have allowed some of staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect students and themselves against would-be mass shooters or other attacks.
However, those staff members can be armed only after they’ve undergone special training and receive certification.
Numerous other states have similar policies allowing civilians to carry guns in schools, but only with permission and under special circumstances.
The elimination of Wyoming’s gun-free zones won’t mean that just anybody can pack a gun into a Wyoming school.
Only people 21 or older with clean records and concealed carry permits will be legally allowed to take their concealed firearms into public schools.
In much of Wyoming, law-abiding adults 21 and older may carry concealed firearms without concealed carry permits.
That means that in the general sense, permits are optional in Wyoming.
But concealed carry permits will be mandatory in schools and some other places, such as inside the Wyoming Capitol building.
The open carry of firearms is also generally allowed in Wyoming without a permit.
However, HB 72 doesn’t authorize open carry in public schools, or any of the other spaces that will lose their gun-free zone status July 1.
Schools Not Thrilled
With HB 172 set to become law, there’s widespread misgivings among public school staff and administrators about what that might mean, Wyoming Education Association (WEA) president Kim Amen told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“We feel like our educators have the right to know if, for example, we’re having parent-teacher conferences and somebody is carrying a weapon,” she said.
Most Wyoming schools don’t have metal detectors, she said. And under the new law, school staff won’t be allowed to ask visitors if they’re carrying concealed firearms.
Emotions can run high in schools, so there’s concern over firearms being in the mix, Amen said.
“We’re also concerned about school board meetings,” she said. “School board meetings have become quite contentious in recent years.”
Private Property Ownes Can Still Prohibit Guns
GOA National Director Mark Jones of Buffalo was a vocal proponent of HB 172, and told Cowboy State Daily that he thinks it will make Wyoming schools safer.
“It restores constitutional rights that GOA argues never should have been taken away in the first place,” he said.
Firearms will still be prohibited in certain publicly funded spaces such as prisons, jails, mental health treatment facilities and laboratories containing explosive materials on the University of Wyoming campus.
Private property won’t be affected, Jones said.
For example, because Cheyenne Frontier Days is a private venture, its organizers can still choose to prohibit civilians from carrying firearms there, he said.
“This does not in any way affect a private property owner’s right to decide what they allow on their property,” Jones said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
