Wyoming’s governor has vetoed legislation approved by Republican legislators that would have rolled back restrictions on where people can conceal carry guns.
The bill would have allowed people to carry guns in a concealed manner at government meetings, public primary schools, and public colleges.
State Rep. Jeremy Haroldson said he sponsored the bill because he thought there were too many gun-free zones in the state.
Both state chambers approved it. The state Senate passed it 22–8, and the state House approved it 54–7.
Mr. Gordon said he was a “fervent supporter of the Second Amendment” but was concerned that the bill would exceed the separation of powers provision in the state constitution since any policy, further regulation, or clarification of the law could be implemented only by the Legislature.
If the bill had become law, open carry of firearms would still have been prohibited in schools and government meetings, and K-12 students wouldn’t have been allowed to have guns at school. Guns would still have been banned in jails, courts, police stations, hospitals, and on private property if that was the owner’s wish.
But concealed carry of guns would have been allowed with a permit in public schools and at public colleges in areas not serving alcohol. They also would have been allowed without a permit in meetings, including those of the Legislature.
State facilities could keep barring concealed carry of firearms, but only if the facilities received legislative approval.
“Every piece of legislation must stand for critical review, particularly those affecting our constitutional rights. As delivered to my desk, this bill lacks sufficient review and debate,” Mr. Gordon wrote.
“Imperfect language opens potential loopholes such as putting a family services case worker at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor for simply asking someone they knew to be carrying a firearm to leave a building in order to defuse an emotionally charged family situation.
“A bill covering such a sensitive topic does not lend itself to successive tweaks to correct flaws, and therefore I believe the legislature should be open to debating and fully working this bill through its established processes.”
Some states, including Alabama and Utah, allow permit holders to conceal carry in schools. Others let any person with permission from school authorities to conceal carry.
“I am saddened by the fact that Governor Gordon would break his campaign promises to sign legislation that eliminates gun free zones. Also, I am frustrated at the fact that he has taken his veto power to a place where he is taking constitutional freedom away from Wyoming’s citizens,” Mr. Haroldson told The Epoch Times.
“I feel that we would have the votes to override. Problem is with leadership closing sessions before we could complete veto overrides, I feel we will never have the opportunity to vote on this bill again this session,” he added.
The Wyoming Gun Owners group pointed to how Mr. Gordon told the organization previously that he would repeal gun-free zones.
“Tonight, Mark Gordon broke a written campaign promise that he made to gun owners when he first ran for Governor by vetoing HB-125. Mark Gordon is a liar,” Wyoming Gun Owners spokesman Aaron Dorr told Cowboy State Daily. “By vetoing this legislation, Mark Gordon has continued the policies that leave law-abiding Wyomingites helpless should a madman attack one of these ‘Gun Free Zones.’”
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus said lawmakers should call a special session and override the veto of House Bill 125 and several other pieces of legislation, including a bill that would restrict abortions, which the governor vetoed.
Some groups spoke out in support of Mr. Gordon’s veto.
“Today is a win for Wyoming families,” Erika Cole, a volunteer with the Wyoming chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in a statement. “As our state battles some of the highest rates of gun deaths and suicide rates in the country, it’s only right for the governor to veto this bill that would have further fueled this crisis and eliminated local control of firearms.”
Mr. Gordon did sign four other bills concerning gun rights. One prohibits credit card processors from using firearms or firearm-related merchant category codes and also prevents the government or private entities from keeping any registry of firearms through the use of a firearms code.
The other bills prohibit the enforcement or implementation of so-called red flag gun laws in Wyoming, amend regulations to make individuals with restored firearm rights eligible for a concealed carry permit, and create an account to reimburse school districts for costs associated with school employees possessing firearms on school property.
Mr. Gordon also ordered state officials to consider allowing concealed carry in the Capitol and other state buildings.
