Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon vetoed House Bill 0125 on March 22. HB125, also known as House Enrolled Act No. 49, would have repealed gun free zones in Wyoming.
House Bill 0125 was passed through the Wyoming Legislature’s 2024 Budget Session successfully, but required the governor’s approval to become law.
The act would have eliminated existing gun free zones at schools, government meetings and other public spaces across the state. It removed many barriers for residents to conceal carry a firearm, and also allowed governmental bodies provisions to prohibit open carrying firearms during meetings.
Gordon in his veto letter to the Legislature wrote, “House Bill 125/House Enrolled Act No. 49 erodes historic local control norms by giving sole authority to the Legislature to micromanage a constitutionally protected right. Any further clarification of the law, if this bill were enacted, would augment the Legislature’s reach into local firearms regulation. The bill exceeds the separation of powers embodied in Article 2 of our Wyoming Constitution. I must, therefore, veto it.”
He continues, “This is not a veto of the notion of repealing gun free zones, it is a request to approach this topic more transparently. With the authority already in place to address this issue at a local level, I call on school districts, community colleges, and the University to take up these difficult conversations again and establish policies that allow for the safe carry of concealed weapons within their facilities.”
Gordon assured that he does support Second Amendment rights, as evidenced by his passing of 13 other pieces of pro-Second Amendment legislation following the budget session. He said he will direct the State Building Commission to begin a process to reconsider rules to allow concealed carry permit holders to exercise their rights within the Capitol and other appropriate state facilities. That process will involve significant public input.
Local legislators shared disappointment in the governor’s decision.
Rep. John Winter (R-HD28, Thermopolis) said, “It’s nonsense. That thing was passed by a large majority, and the Governor overstepped.”
House Bill 0125 was one of several pieces of legislation and budget items vetoed by Governor Gordon that passed with strong support throughout the session.
Winter added, “The things he vetoed all passed pretty strongly, and we need to revisit those and override him if we can. There’s a lot of concern about it.”
Representative Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland) said, “I’m disappointed with many of the vetoes by the governor, and concerned about his executive overreach, and that includes House Bill 0125. It’s my first time in the legislature, but this seems like a large amount of vetoes. I think that power should be used with some discretion and discernment. It’s a power that should be used carefully, and that’s not my impression of what happened on these vetoes.”
District 20 Senator Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) said, “I haven’t heard yet whether we’re going to go into special session to override some of these vetoes. I expect that to be a real possibility.”
Lawley detailed the process of going into a special session. She said, “The budget session was closed, and because of that every bill that didn’t pass died, and every bill that was vetoed died; there was a kind of a termination. A special session would require us to come back, refile these bills, have them go through the process of committees and then brought back to the House floor and Committee of the Whole, go through amendments; we have to start all over.” Lawley estimated that the cost of undergoing a special session to examine the vetoed legislation would be nearly $100,000 a day.
For Lawley, the deciding factor for her support of entering into a special section is the possibility of overturning the veto of Senate File 54, which provides a property tax exemption of 25% in residential property value. She said, “What we have to look at is what’s urgent, and that’s Senate File 54.” If they successfully overturn the decision on Senate File 54, it will go into effect this year.
Winter also voiced that he would support convening in a special session. When asked, he said, “Of course. It needs to happen. I certainly would vote for that. We need to go take care of it.”
Cooper echoed this sentiment, saying, “At this point, if the vote comes, I’ll support going into special session.”
Speaker of the House Albert Sommers and Senate President Ogden Driskill said in a prepared statement, “As the Presiding Officers of the 67th Legislature, we are also disappointed in the Governor’s liberal use of his veto authority and tone of his veto messages. However, a special session is unlikely to effectively address the Governor’s vetoes.
“The Legislature cannot simply meet for one day in a special session to vote to override vetoes. With the Majority Floor Leaders in both chambers motioning to adjourn “sine die” and gaining approval from the members present, all bills and actions of the 2024 Budget Session by the Legislature are finished.” The two estimated a 10-day special session would be needed at a cost of about $350,000.
Cooper also reported that he will be working on legislation in the coming weeks to introduce an alternative bill to House Bill 0125. He said, “I will either bring it through committee or as a personal bill, and it will address some of the issues that have been pointed out about House Bill 0125.”