As things stand now, Wyomingites with Concealed Carry Weapons Permits (CCW) enter murky territory when they travel.
Some states, such as Colorado, have reciprocity with Wyoming. That means a CCW in either state is recognized as valid in the other. But other states, such an Illinois and California, don’t recognize Wyoming permits.
So, firearms owners can turn from law-abiding citizens to outlaws simply by crossing state lines.
There are mirror bills in the U.S. House and Senate, H.R. 38 and S.65, that would make reciprocity uniform in all 50 states. They’ve languished since last year, but President Donald Trump has stated he will sign a nationwide reciprocity bill, if and when one crosses his desk.
Meanwhile, Utah Republican Mike Lee opted to take it a step further last month, introducing S. 4013. That would legalize constitutional concealed carry in all 50 states, meaning, no permit required.
Research Before Travel
Wyoming currently allows constitutional carry for law-abiding gun owners over age 21. Some nearby states, such as Utah and Arizona, also have constitutional carry, but Colorado does not.
All the differences in gun laws can make traveling a headache, CCW holder Harry Pollak of Sheridan told Cowboy State Daily. Whenever he travels beyond Wyoming, he researches the latest firearms policies in every state he’ll pass through along the way.
“I go online. The laws in the other states change so frequently,” he said.
In some of the stricter states a firearm carried in a vehicle must be locked up, empty, with the ammunition locked up separately.
“I do my best to comply with the rules when I enter other states. I pull over, do what I need to do, and then I’ll be on my merry way,” Pollak said.
Pollak is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a range safety officer at the Sheridan County Sportsmen’s Association Shooting Range/Archery and Gun Club.
Moving between states can also make things complicated, said Pollak, who moved to Wyoming five years ago.
“I came from what I would call a communist state, California,” he said.
He had a California permit, which he said was “difficult to acquire,” but wasn’t honored in Wyoming. So, he had to wait to acquire a Wyoming CCW.
Why The Delay
Mark Jones of Buffalo, a national director for Gun Owners of America, said that he’s not sure why the nationwide reciprocity bills have stalled in Congress.
However, he hopes that Republicans will start pushing the measures.
“I’m hopeful that it’s something that will get moving this summer, if they (Republicans) think it’s going to something that’s positive in the mid-term elections. I hope they don’t stonewall it because they think it’s something that’s going to be a negative in the elections,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
Messages sent to Wyoming’s Republican Congressional delegates – Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman – weren’t answered by publication time.
21 And Up
Wyoming recently lowered the age to attain a CCW from 21 to 18.
Any nationwide changes to concealed carry regulations will likely apply only to citizens 21 and older, Jones said.
That’s because federal firearms laws forbid anyone under 21 to purchase handguns, he said.
“What that means is that a young person can’t buy a handgun. If the state says they can possess one, they can have it, but they can’t go out and buy it for themselves,” he said.
A Matter Of Rights
Wyoming CCW permit holder Frank Bilek of Buffalo told Cowboy State Daily that he sees nationwide reciprocity as a matter of recognizing citizens’ rights.
“It seems that for at least 60 years, there are never-ending attempts to minimize and attempt to destroy the Second Amendment to our US Constitution,” he said.
“None of the other nine found in our Bill of Rights have been assaulted anywhere near to that which was out on the Second Amendment. Must be a reason for that,” he added.
If the rest of the Bill of Rights is recognized across the country, it’s only logical that the matters related to the Second Amendment should be universal, Bilek said.
“To play a devil's advocate, what part of the other natural rights in the Bill of Rights should I be prepared to sacrifice should I cross a state line or several state lines? In other words, if should there be debate by spineless politicians regarding one natural right, then by all means, let's address all 10,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
