The Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday forwarded a trio of gun bills, including measures that could allow college freshmen to carry concealed firearms on campus.
Another bill would recognize the restoration of non-violent felons’ gun rights from other states.
What The Bills Do
House Bill 95, House Bill 96 and House Bill 39, are headed to the Senate floor.
HB 95 would allow “Constitutional carry” of concealed firearms at the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community college campuses. That means people over age 21 who are legally allowed to own firearms could carry them on campuses, with no concealed carry permit required.
HB 96 would lower the minimum age to obtain a Wyoming concealed carry permit from 21 to 18.
Even if both bills pass, open carry of guns on campus would still be banned. Carrying firearms into college sporting events where alcohol is being served would also remain forbidden.
And the allowance for permitted 18-year-olds to carry firearms would apply only on college campuses; 18-year-olds would not be allowed to carry firearms in Wyoming high schools.
House Bill 39 would plug what proponents say is a hole in Wyoming’s restoration of gun rights policy for non-violent felons.
A hunting guide told the committee that he had his firearms rights restored in Washington state, only to move to Wyoming and discover that didn’t apply here.
Updating Campus Carry Regulations
HB 95 and HB 96 are sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland.
He led a successful charge to eliminate Wyoming’s gun free zones during the Legislature’s 2025 session.
That included allowing people to carry concealed firearms on college campuses – but only those over age 21, with Wyoming concealed carry permits.
Haroldson said there was an oversight, insofar as students and students’ parents with permits from other states still aren’t allowed to carry on campus.
HB 95 offers a simple solution by lifting the permit requirement for those over age 21.
Adults At 18?
The idea of lowering the age of permitted concealed carry to 18 touched off a debate over whether the typical 18-year-old is mature enough to carry a concealed firearm.
Central Wyoming College president Brad Tyndall told the committee that state college administrators and trustees across Wyoming don’t favor Constitutional carry or armed 18 to 20-year-olds on campuses.
“Our general stance is, we like permits, and we like age 21,” he said.
He suggested that the problem of people with permits from other states not being allowed to carry could be solved by Wyoming applying “reciprocity,” or recognizing the validity of permits from other states.
Community colleges deal with a variety of students along a “bell curve” of maturity and mental stability, he said.
“The Constitutional carry is just too open, given that bell curve of students who go from very responsible to just out there, as in ‘Lord help us.’ That mental health thing, which we all recognize, is the problem,” he said.
Requiring permits to carry concealed firearms on campus might help filter out immature or unstable students, he said.
Others argued that 18-year-olds can vote, or be sent off to fight wars, so they should also have the right to get a concealed carry permit.
While Wyoming residents aren’t allowed to purchase or legally drink alcohol until age 21, proponents of HB 96 argued that bearing arms is a Constitutional right, whereas drinking isn’t.
said that in most matters, a person should be considered an adult at age 18.
“I’m a pastor, so I say this very, very carefully, but I struggle with the fact that we don’t allow 18-year-olds to be adults, he said.
Cheyenne resident Beth Howard argued against allowing 18-year-olds to carry concealed firearms. She noted recent violent crimes in Cheyenne and other Wyoming communities involving teenagers.
“Teens are already armed and making poor decisions with firearms. Let’s not make the problem worse,” she said.
Hunting Guide Says He Had To Quit
HB 39 sponsor Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper said he was prompted to bring the bill because of the experiences of his constituent, Cory Stovall of Casper.
Stovall has his gun rights restored in Washington, Washut said.
“He moved to Wyoming, believing he was golden, with regard to firearms rights, only to discover last July that things had changed, a different interpretation had been made (of the law) and he was considered a prohibited person again,” he said.
Stovall told the committee that he was convicted of a non-violent felony in Washington in 2004 you mean 2014??? and lost his gun rights.
After that state’s mandatory “10-year waiting period,” his gun rights were restored in 2024, he said.
He said the loss of his rights in Wyoming kept him from working as a guide during the 2025 hunting season.
“I lost valued income and valuable time in the field, teaching my kids, and my clients safety and the ethical harvest of game animals,” he said.
Washut said Wyoming’s statute restoring non-violent offenders’ gun rights, which took effect July 1, 2025, failed to clarify the recognition of gun rights restored in other states.
HB 39 would write that recognition into the Wyoming statute, he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
