WY Bill Would End Most "Gun-Free Zones" In The State

While Democrats in Washington, D.C. and deep-blue states like California and New York are already getting to work on implementing their gun control agenda, lawmakers in states that are traditionally much more supportive of our right to keep and bear arms aren’t laying down and giving up. Instead, they’re using the current legislative sessions to strengthen and support the Second Amendment.

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Take Wyoming, where a bill that would get rid of most gun-free zones across the state has already been filed.

Senate File 67 would allow people to carry guns into governmental meetings, including those of the legislature, as well as into schools, colleges, and universities. But owners of businesses and other private property would still be able to ban guns if they want to do so. And while the carrying of guns into schools would be allowed, school districts would still have the authority to prohibit school employees from carrying guns on district property.

A similar piece of legislation was filed last year and actually had support from a majority of the state Senate, but because of legislative rules a 2/3rds majority was required to move it forward. That’s not the case this year, fortunately, which is really good news.

As for the gun-free zones themselves, as Dr. John Lott has pointed out, there’s simply no evidence that depriving law-abiding gun owners from carrying a firearms does anything to make anyone safer. Conversely, there’s quite a bit of evidence that those with murderous intent are perfectly comfortable in ignoring the “no guns allowed” signs. Take this piece from Lott in November of 2018.

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Most gunmen are smart enough to know that they can kill more people if they attack places where victims can’t defend themselves. That’s one reason why 98 percent of mass public shootings since 1950 have occurred in places where citizens are banned from having guns.

The national media tend to ignore case after case of mass public shootings being stopped by armed private citizens. Just a couple of days before the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh a concealed handgun permit holder stopped an alleged killer who was shooting blacks at a Kroger grocery store in Louisville, Ky.

National media outlets such as ABC and NBC covered the attack, noting that the alleged gunman told another white man that: “Whites don’t kill whites.” It sounded as if the gunman was merely reassuring a bystander that he had nothing to worry about. But reporters left out the crucial first part of the quote. The killer said: “Don’t shoot me. I won’t shoot you. Whites don’t shoot whites.” The other white person was pointing a permitted concealed handgun at the killer.

It is understandable that the media doesn’t cover most mass public shootings in other countries. But as much as it might not fit the media’s narrative, the U.S. is a relatively safe place from these shooting attacks. Still, we need to let people protect themselves and each other. We need to get rid of gun-free zones.

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Well, Wyoming lawmakers have the chance to take Lott’s advice and ensure the personal safety of residents. At the moment Senate File 67 has not received a date for its first committee hearing, but you can track the progress of the bill here.

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