Gun-Free Zone Repeal Bills Dead in Wyoming Legislature
With a House bill that would have repealed most gun free zones in public areas missing a Monday deadline, it appears that the 2019 Wyoming Legislature won't be rolling back the zones this session.
That is despite the fact that both House Bill 183 and Senate File 75 each had over 30 co-sponsors, including both senators and representatives. SF 75, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Bouchard, was the first to go down to defeat.
The bill was first voted down in the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 3-2 margin. Bouchard claimed legislative leaders had purposely routed the bill to that committee because they knew it's members would be unfriendly to the legislation and wanted to defeat the measure before it could reach the floor of the Senate.
An attempt to recall the bill from the committee was defeated on a 22-8 vote in the Wyoming Senate, essentially killing the bill for this session.
The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Tim Salazar [R-Fremont County] officially died on Monday when it missed a deadline for a Committee of the Whole vote.
An attempt on the floor of the House to recall that bill from committee fell short by a margin of 32-24 with 4 absent.
Both bills would have essentially banned gun-free zones in public areas, including the University of Wyoming, state and local government buildings and similar venues.
They would have also specified that the Wyoming Legislature has authority over gun-regulations in the state, overriding local gun restrictions. it would not have affected gun bans on private property, include businesses.