The Wyoming State Legislature has been discussing the “Wyoming Repeal Gun Free Zones Act” as of late. This act, cited as being modeled after the Utah laws regarding concealed and open carry, aims to increase the personal-protection rights of Wyomingites under a justification of the Second Amendment.
Many students, staff, faculty, and Wyoming constituents do not support the bill, in its current form or even a potentially amended one. The bill as it currently stands would allow for guns to be kept in campus dorms, at campus athletic events without alcohol, and in gyms.
The justification for this revolves around personal protection rights being expected in any circumstance alongside statistics showing that Utah has found great success in their policies, upon which ours would be loosely based.
The argument against this from student testimony primarily centered on suicide rates. With suicide rates being as high as they are within Wyoming and particularly on campus, the risk of allowing students, even concealed-carry permit holders, to have a firearm in their dorm room (which would be allowed to be loaded or to have ammunition stored alongside it), is very high in terms of potential increases in suicide rates.
In addition, the crime rates within Wyoming, especially violent crime rates, are relatively low in comparison with many other states. These were some of the foundational pieces of the student testimony in why guns
would not be a net positive on campus. Those students who were not against concealed-carry on campus suggested amendments to restrict areas such as dorms, athletic events, and gyms.
These amendments would put the guidelines more on par with the other 10 universities who permit concealed-carry in some form. States like Idaho do not allow firearms in residence halls while Wisconsin allows campuses to restrict by campus authority or by building.
Another argument made was not regarding concealed-carry itself but authority of the legislature. A student representative from ASUW spoke on the Town Halls other meetings that had been held on campus about this issue, stating that the legislature making these decisions for students is a form of overreach.
Arguing for a more localized governance has been a large point within many Wyoming debates, but has rarely been used to argue against legislation that pertains to something like gun rights. The entirety of the situation creates a dichotomy within the public perception of the legislature as the Governor’s veto of the
previous iteration of this legislation displayed a check and balance.
This subsequently gave localized authority to the university, who voted down the potential concealed-carry. This decision was noted and essentially overruled by the legislature who is now aiming to pass a bill that is less restrictive of gun-free zones and less accommodating of student perspectives than the previous iterations were.
While the bill has faced a great deal of support, it constitutes overreach in the eyes of many students and constituents who feel their voices are not being heard. That being said, the roughly 30% of students who supported concealed-carry on campus and 5 trustees who voted in favor of previous legislation have expressed support of the bill as it is not only representative of Wyoming traditions regarding personal protection and personal freedoms, but mimics a proven and successful system in Utah. Ultimately, there will be more debate on the topic from both students and legislators. Those who wish to follow the path of this legislation can find everything they need on the Wyoming legislature website.
