CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon has vetoed a bill that would have allowed people to carry concealed guns in public schools and government meetings.
In his veto letter Friday night, Gordon said he had concerns the bill would exceed the separation of powers provision in the state constitution since any policy, further regulation or clarification of the law could only be implemented by the Legislature.
It would have required each state facility, including the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming State Hospital and the Wyoming Boys' School, to seek legislative approval to restrict carrying firearms.
The bill "erodes historic local control norms by giving sole authority to the Legislature to micromanage a constitutionally protected right,'' Gordon wrote. ''Any further clarification of the law, if this bill were enacted, would augment the Legislature's reach into local firearms regulation.''
Under the bill, open carry of firearms would still have been prohibited in schools and government meetings, and K-12 students would not have been allowed to have guns at school. Guns would still have been banned in jails, courts, police stations and hospitals, and on private property if that was the owner's wish.
Concealed firearms would have been allowed with a permit in public schools and at the University of Wyoming and community colleges in areas not serving alcohol. They also would have been allowed without a permit in meetings, including those of the Legislature.
Supporters said continuing to not allow guns in schools and meetings infringes on their Second Amendment rights.
A handful of Wyoming districts have let school officials carry guns in schools since the state began allowing it in 2017. Other states enabling permit holders to have concealed guns in schools include Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
