By Hannah Shields
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — A bill filed for the 2025 general session would create an “enhanced” concealed carry firearm permit that would allow qualified permit- holders to conceal carry on K-12 school campuses, as well as Wyoming university and college campuses, without needing written consent from campus security.

Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, the bill’s sponsor, said the idea for this bill was brought to him by a “really strong gun advocate” from the Bighorn Basin. 

Concealed carry is currently not permitted in Wyoming public school districts, although some school boards adopted policies that allow teachers to concealed carry in the classroom.

The constituent told the representative he wanted to be able to concealed carry when he drops his son off at school, Cooper said. If a person with a concealed-carry permit shot somebody on school campus, they’d still be arrested under current Wyoming statute.

“They’re going to be doing a lot of explaining, even if they’re completely legitimate for what they’re doing,” Cooper said. “There’s just a lot of consequences for carrying a concealed carry in a school zone. And in Wyoming, there’s no accountability for that right now.”

Current state statute (W.S. 6-8-104) allows a Wyoming resident to qualify for a five-year concealed carry permit as long as they meet outlined requirements, including the following:

. At least 21 years of age

. No physical infirmity that prevents their ability to safely handle a gun

. Not previously convicted of a violent felony

. Demonstrate familiarity with a firearm with documentation

. Not legally incompetent

. No record of being committed to a mental institution 

Cooper’s bill, Senate File 37, “Enhanced concealed carry in school zones,” creates an application for a new enhanced concealed carry permit that would allow permit- holders to concealed carry onto school campuses. 

Cooper’s proposal would require at least eight hours of firearms training within the last 12 months and demonstrated proficiency with a firearm in order for applicants to qualify for an enhanced concealed carry permit.

Applications would also require fingerprints for background checks and a Wyoming- issued driver’s license or state ID.

“This is just an alternative to get a little bit more responsibility to someone that is going to concealed carry on a school campus,” Cooper said.

Unlike a regular concealed carry permit, an enhanced concealed carry permit holder would be allowed to concealed carry their firearm onto any public school campus, according to the proposed legislation.

It also allows enhanced concealed carriers to “carry a concealed weapon into: (i) any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms … (ii) any elementary or secondary school facility …  (iii) any college or university facility.”

One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said she seriously deliberated whether she wanted to sign on to the bill. It made more sense to allow teachers, whom the students and school employees know and trust, to carry a gun on campus in case of a school shooter, Schuler told the WTE. If a random concealed- carrying person were to take out his or her gun against the shooter, it could create a lot of confusion for law enforcement.

“Who’s to know that he’s not the shooter?” Schuler said.

At the same time, she understood parents’ concerns about their ability to protect their own child on campus, and she thought this bill could be a compromise. Schuler said the bill’s specific requirements for firearms training appealed to her the most.

“If someone is willing to go through all of this to be able to carry into a school district, then you know, we want, ultimately, our kids to be safe,” Schuler said. “I would at least feel better about the safety issue with someone that has gone through some training like our teachers have.”

This bill will be considered during the 2025 general session, which starts Jan. 14.