CHEYENNE—When Rep. Karlee Provenza arrived at the Wyoming Capitol this legislative budget session, three death threats were waiting in her mailbox.
The Democrat from Laramie says she has watched people stand in the gallery overlooking the House of Representatives, trying to intimidate her “all day.” It’s likely that come the Legislature’s 2025 general session, those same folks trying to bully Provenza could legally be carrying firearms.
“In this space where I’m receiving death threats, I don’t necessarily appreciate the fact that everybody can have a firearm,” Provenza told WyoFile at a Democratic Party Caucus press briefing Thursday morning. “And I’ll have to make a decision about whether I want to bring my concealed firearm with me to the Capitol or not.”
Although guns are now prohibited, hours after Provenza’s remarks, the Wyoming Senate stamped its final approval on House Bill 125 – Repeal gun free zones and preemption amendments, which would put an end to state, county and town governments’ authority to regulate concealed firearms. It would also allow people to conceal carry in public spaces like schools and the Capitol.
The legislation — which died in committee before an unexpected revival — is now one signature away from becoming law. Upon Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing, if it occurs, HB 125 becomes effective immediately.
Representatives and senators tried repeatedly to alter HB 125, primarily to restore local control over gun policies in sensitive spaces like schools.
Sen. Wendy Schuler (R-Evanston) didn’t even go that far. An amendment she brought on Thursday sought only to require that armed civilians notify the school district superintendent in writing before entering public schools. She argued it’s a matter of safety.
“What happens if there is an active shooter?” Schuler said. Police or a school resource officer responding could encounter an armed do-gooder on the scene, not distinguish them from the person causing harm and put innocent people in the crosshairs. “This amendment is basically trying to escalate the safety,” she said.
But Sen. Anthony Bouchard (R-Cheyenne) opposed the measure, arguing a written list of concealed carriers is “bad for policy” and “bad for people’s privacy.”
“If you’re concealed-carrying and someone knows it,” Bouchard said, “you’re not doing it right.”
The Wyoming Senate shot down Schuler’s amendment.
Senators did the same the day before during HB 125’s second reading, when Sen. Bill Landen (R-Casper) sought to add in language giving public colleges and the University of Wyoming the authority to regulate firearms in dormitories and residence halls.
“It’s unanimous among our colleges that they could use our help on this front,” said Landen, an emeritus employee of Casper College. “I don’t think that we want firearms tucked underneath mattresses.”
House Bill 125 does not restrict private parties or prohibit the federal government from regulating firearms on its property, but upon Gordon’s signature it’ll drastically alter where guns are allowed on state, county and town property — and in meetings of those governments and their political subdivisions. The final version of the bill includes specific exemptions only for athletic events where alcohol is being sold, facilities like the Wyoming Girls’ School and Boys’ School and areas where “explosive or volatile materials are present.”
The legislation does not explicitly exempt legal facilities like courthouses and police stations, but a clause in HB 125 does read it, “shall not be construed to … Allow the carrying of a concealed weapon into facilities where otherwise prohibited by law.”
WyoFile correspondent Maya Shimizu Harris contributed to this story.
Even during the WILD west guns were checked at the saloon door! WHAT are you people thinking!
If the governor signs it I would not want to be a teacher, elected officer, fire fighter, or cop in Wyoming or for that matter a member of the LBGTQ or others that so many seem to hate. Just makes everything more dangerous. Our laws are written to protect the majority of us from a few that would do us harm. Armed teachers? Armed Legislators? Armed Commissioners, armed receptionists. WOW!
Let’s forget the discussions of “gun free zones”!
Let’s just BAN GUNS IN WYOMING! PERIOD!
Then nobody will have guns at all, and nobody will die from a gunshot.
Gross magnitude of this discussion. Same logic, just a bigger magnitude of what our perfect world would look like.
The ammosexuals are out of control!
Let’s not be ostriches waiting for the next thoughts and prayers Event. Please continue & expand gun free zones.
This is your future Wyoming. A teacher that I know told me this story. The school district had an armed shooter drill. The teachers were issued air soft guns along with the assailant. The assailant burst through the classroom door and started shooting. The armed teacher was so unnerved he ended up fumbling with his air soft gun and shot two “students” in the front row. True story.
I’m pretty liberal on most issues, but on teachers being armed, I have to side with conservatives. Everyone who feels comfortable should be permitted to carry a gun on campus. I would require training and make sure school administration is notified of all school personnel who are armed. I would also require anyone with a gun on campus to have it in a lockbox that opens only with the gun owner’s fingerprints. We don’t want to give students access to guns.
Unfortunately, in a country where we refuse to help the mentally ill, we should at least give others the right to protect themselves from them. I would feel better knowing that the person teaching my grandkids had a gun on them, in case of a crazed nut entering the classroom with a gun.
Research supports that VERY LITTLE gun violence is perpetrated by the mentally ill. Studies show that people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violence than its perpetrators. But the community norm is to return guns to perpetrators of domestic violence: Over half of all intimate partner homicides are committed with guns. Firearms contribute significantly to domestic violence in the U.S. — to threaten, to coerce, to control, and to kill. Around 4.5 million women in the United States have been threatened with a gun, and nearly 1 million women have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner. Over half of all intimate partner homicides are committed with guns. Indeed, a woman is five times more likely to be murdered when her abuser has access to a gun. To reduce the number of domestic violence homicides, we must ensure that people who abuse their intimate partners or family do not have access to firearms. (John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions).
How does your logic of women and domestic abuse have anything to do with all the gun violence that occurs in gun free zones like schools.. because a crazy person would rather shoot people up at a school (often the case) instead of a law enforcement convention (never happened)?
Appears to me Barb a whole lot of women should chose better life partners. Maybe go for good character rather than a big hard one. But I fail to see correlation between that violence and protecting kids in school. Out side of maybe that where the kids problems start
The students need to be armed so they can protect themselves against crazy teachers.
Not in courthouse but schools? That is F’ed up. I guess everyone now needs a gun what kind of country and state is this? School teachers and Administrators need to walkout and not teach. That is the only possible solution.
Need some help tracking comments on this. Would the supporters of this proposal direct me to where the requirement for training is located. As I read Wyoming law, no permit or training is required to carry a concealed firearm. It appears that anyone who can legally purchase a firearm can carry it concealed. That being the case, it would seem that all the talk about the benefits of “trained” individuals carrying really has no bearing on this discussion.
The irony is that Republicans speak of protecting individual “freedoms” and “rights” while passing legislation that removes freedom of choice from the citizens they’re supposedly protecting. Here is yet another instance in which cities, counties, school districts, individual business owners, etc. are deprived of their rights by heavy-handed dictatorial state government. Are Wyoming voters truly incapable of seeing the incredible hypocrisy of these legislators?
Couple things could be done as well. Really not that expensive. All class room walls facing hallways. Line them with Armid Kevlar. Second. Locking armor clad doors. Armid Kevlar is NOT THAT EXPENSIVE. Heavy deadbolt locks are cheap as well. You simply armor walls from where threat comes from. You buy time for law enforcement to get there. 10 minutes time is HUGE! These tragic events are over in short time frame. Buying 10 minutes is crucial.
To all who are against this. Your wrong! Dead wrong. Currently no gun laws in school are killing innocent kids and teachers. In short what we doing in not working. Period. End of story on that folly. So train arm teachers. Stop and think. Not a one of these shooters go to police head quarters and start shooting. Why? Because everyone is armed at police station. If teachers don’t want to train and carry. Fine, FIRE THEM! There no shortage of teachers. In fact every Class room should have fire arm of teachers choice in class room. In locked box. Only teacher has key. When I grew up in South Dakota. Virtually every car had firearm and shells in the vehicle so we could hunt after school. There was none of this BS. But we didn’t have this “gender confusion” either. Train & arm. Pay the teachers extra. My grandkids deserve protection. By god give it to them. Ms. Riley may still be alive today if she had been armed. Joe Biden sure protected her. Didn’t he?
Our teachers are underpaid, overworked and there is a big shortage of them. Now you want them to be a swat team? The state government is currently waging a war on allowing teachers to do their jobs to begin with.
Alex. There is no shortage of teachers. Teaching degrees are one of most common degrees there is. But there is shortage of people with degrees that will work for the low wages. Easy to rectify.
Much like Trump and DeSantis protected the kids in Parkland, eh Larry? Look, this “arm the public everywhere” deal has nifty looking designs on the battlefield maps of the armchair generals and would-be-heroes, but all of the talking points are with the hindsight of the aftermath of the killings that continue to this day. “If only there had been a handy gun-toting-savior!” In case you haven’t noticed it, our nation is filled with them. They continue to stock up on ammo and guns as they cry about them being taken away. The gun sellers wipe their tears with the dollars as they cry about their rights to sell being taken away as they rack up stellar sales each year. The rest of us are standing in shock and awe waiting for those thoughts and prayers to start working. When you really think about these things, what kind of little kid wants to be exposed to MORE gun violence by people they look to for safety? My parents and teachers were theoretically my softer and safer place. The police were the heroes. The military were the heroes. They took out the bad guys. That was the line in the sand. If my friend or family shot someone today, I couldn’t look at them the same. It’s not our job. Our job is to de-escalate and to try to not make each other a potential combatant.
Karen. There was zero armed adults at the parkland to confront the threat. But again that tragic event could have been prevented and should have been prevented. Kid gave off plenty of warning signs. But just think if there had been armed adults at parkland it may never of happened. I doubt it would have. Karen. Best to be armed and never need to use force then be trapped in event and not have weapon to use. I grant you every unarmed citizen in those situations pray for a weapon.
There was an armed adult at Parkland and he hid behind a pillar in the entry way. Same thing at Eovaldi.
Let’s list all the various ways that the chrump caucus thinks a teacher can and should be fired.
Teaching science
Teaching biology
Teaching history
Assigning books
Being lgbtq
Being straight but supporting lgbtq
Anything pertaining to diversity, equity, or inclusion
Critical race theory (only in higher education)
Advising students
Counseling students
Not being bigoted or not discriminating enough
Living their personal lives as they want
Not being religious enough (same as not being bigoted or discriminatory enough)
Claims of indoctrination
And the list could go on….
The chrump gullibles demonize the everyday tasks that teachers perform. Now you want teachers to be fired for not wanting to carry a gun?
Are you people consistent in anything?
I am a teacher, I have been for 27 years. I would feel more comfortable if I could carry and other responsible trained teachers were carrying.
I think it’s time to put some of these issues on the ballot and let the people decide. Our “reps” don’t have the intellectual ability or courage to make these decisions. Outside influence is running this state.
Cf. (also other cases cited at end of article):
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/03/08/gillette-teen-charged-as-adult-for-bringing-gun-to-school/ *
*Unfair! What’s the big deal?
Way too much crazy, incorrect thinking going on!
This bill, HB125, should properly be named, The Aiding and Abetting of the Mass Murder of Children bill. As I understand it, a person can now stand outside a school with a WMD, and lets be clear, that’s what these military style weapons are. With the passage of this bill, a person could conceal such a weapon or any other firearm, walk into a school and start killing people before anything could be done to stop them, because they would be within their legal rights. America suffers on average, two mass shootings a day. More insanity will not cure this evil.
I wrote a letter back in about 2010 requesting to be able to carry on campus at UW. I demonstrated military training. I pointed out that while there is a small chance of a shooting on any given day, there is a 100% chance of a school shooting eventually… I was snarkily denied by a law firm, I guess representing the board of trustees. I have been pushing this bill ever since. Colorado has this, Utah, Oregon, Montana, among others… it’s not new, it’s not radical. Sign the bill governor!!
I don’t care about your “military” training. I worry about the mental state of some gun worshippers. Going by some comments that have been posted here, I feel that worry is justified.
Its not new but it is radically stupid. You fit the mold of someone that needs to be a hero. Having to carry a gun everyday for this infinitesimally small chance of a gun being used by some maniac and you being the hero is a stupid way to run a state, but alas republicans gonna republican.
The “everyone else does it” is never a good enough reason in my books.
Even if Governor Gordon doesn’t sign it, it will eventually be passed into law, some how, some day. Sad
If this passes I guarantee a strike by teachers state-wide until its repealed. Enjoy teaching your own kids.
Perfect. All the more reason to go to a voucher system!!
Doubt it. Other states had no issues, in fact, the teachers welcomed it as they could then carry.
I am a teacher, I have been for 27 years. I would feel more comfortable if I could carry and other responsible trained teachers were carrying.
Teachers cannot strike in this state. They will walk out, and good luck hiring more. To be clear also, people cannot conceal carry in K-12 schools in Colorado. Very few teachers have signed up to carry at school in the three school districts that have passed the policy. Don’t say teachers want it. Teachers want to teach.
This state is falling apart.
Public schools in Newcastle Wyoming are locked down as I am writing this…. No one knows why….. All the churches here were locked down this last Sunday as well……almost a week later no one is sure which church was the one dealing with the armed and agitated individual…… What is wrong with people.
They’ve moved away from God, Tim, pure and simple.