“The WSBA fought against this bill all legislative session,” McCoy told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “Every meeting I went to to testify for this bill, they were there testifying against it. But now we, as a community, are supposed to trust that they're making a good policy for our schools, for a bill that they didn't even want to pass.”

McCoy was heavily involved in the district's adoption of its current parental rights policy, which was adopted over the past summer at the direction of the Legislature.

Based on her frustrations with that process, this time around, she formed an alternative policy and rallied a small group of 10 parents and teachers to sign a petition directing the LCSD1 board to consider the petition, which was presented to them during Monday’s meeting.

McCoy's proposal draws heavily from the statute itself; requiring teachers, staff, and volunteers who want to carry on campus to undergo at least 16 hours of live-fire training along with eight hours of scenario-based training. They'd also be required to undergo at least 12 hours of firearm qualification every year, and would have to provide written notice of their intent to carry with the school district's superintendent. 

Despite those regulations, WSBA Executive Director Brian Farmer huffed to the Tribune Eagle that districts should have policies vetted by attorneys before they're approved, adding, "for somebody to say, 'Hey, I've got it solved for you’ … I would never encourage a district to just adopt something (because) somebody says, 'Hey, I've got it solved for you.'"

This is a family friendly website, so let's just say "No duh, Sherlock" in response to Farmer's advice. No school district is going to blindly adopt a policy without letting counsel take a look at it first, but that doesn't mean that McCoy's legwork won't be appreciated or adopted by her local school district or others across the state. 

McCoy's policy also directs the district to implement an age-appropriate firearm safety education program that promotes responsible gun ownership and safety for elementary, middle and high school students.

McCoy’s hope in presenting the alternative policy was to give the district a variety of options as they address this issue. 

Per Wyoming Statute 21-3-110 (xiii), the board is required to consider every petition presented to them, as long as at least five citizens of the school district have signed the petition. They have 30 days after receiving the petition to respond.

“I can petition under this statute to have them review this policy,” McCoy said. “Not to say they're going to take it and pass it, but if (they) want the most legal detail, follow the statutes and law policy possible? I've handed it to (them) on a silver platter; it's up to (them) to decide what to do with it.”

I think what McCoy is doing is great, and I hope that other gun-owning parents follow suit in other school districts. We know that the gun control lobby is getting involved in every layer of government, including school boards, so we can't ignore what's happening at the local level anymore than we can turn a blind eye to what's taking place in Congress or our state legislatures. By closely adhering to the text of the statute, McCoy's proposal is arguably going to be much more in line with the intent of the legislature than anything drafted by an organization that was wholeheartedly opposed to upending the status quo, and though I'm sure a lawyer will be looking over her plan it sounds like an eminently reasonable way to ensure that anyone who walks into a Laramie County school intent on murder and mayhem will be met with an armed response without students and staff having to wait precious minutes for police to arrive.