Good News for Wyoming Concealed Carry Permit Holders

I just received this from a reliable source. Currently, 48 of the 50 states allow some version of concealed or open carry of a handgun for personal protection. Wyoming is one of those enlightened states. They just need to tweak the wording to their legislation a little bit.

The right to self-defense is surely the most basic of all rights. Nobody would blame a dog for biting the person who kicks it; nobody would blame an animal for attacking the hunter who is trying to shoot it (I'm a hunter, by the way); so why would anybody question a person's right to defend themselves with a firearm when the alternative is injury or death?

But I digress. Here's the good news from the State of Wyoming:

OFFICE OF GOVERNOR DAVE FREUDENTHAL
State Capitol
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Ph. (307) 777-7434

January 15, 2010

******FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******

Contact: Jonathan Green, Press Secretary
Phone: 307.777.7437
E-mail: jgreen3@state.wy.us

Gov. Freudenthal Backs Legislation to Restore Concealed Carry Reciprocity

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov. Dave Freudenthal has announced his support for proposed legislation to restore Wyoming concealed carry reciprocity after the current statutes were found to be ambiguous. Senate File 26 is sponsored by Sen. Cale Case of Lander.

Gov. Freudenthal said, “This is important legislation that ensures that lawful permit holders in and out of Wyoming can carry firearms as originally intended. I am very pleased that Senator Case has proposed legislation which remedies this problem and will take us back to a place where we have reciprocity with a significant number of other states.”

Last year, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg discovered language in the existing law that would have significantly reduced the number of states to which Wyoming could grant reciprocity. Reciprocity is where two states agree to accept one another’s permits. Freudenthal and Salzburg agreed to postpone implementing a decision reducing the number of states who could legally carry concealed firearms in Wyoming, in order to give lawmakers an opportunity to craft a legislative fix. Salzburg believes the proposed legislation will clarify the statute and remove the problems with determining which states should be granted reciprocity.

“The existing statute requires the Attorney General to determine whether other states' concealed carry laws have requirements that are 'similar' to Wyoming's. The problem is that other states' laws are similar to Wyoming's requirements, in some respects, and markedly dissimilar in others. Because reciprocity is an important issue, I wanted more certainty regarding the scope of my statutory review of other states’ laws,” Salzburg said.

Sen. Cale Case is the primary sponsor of the legislation, with co-sponsors Sen. Eli Bebout, Rep. Edward Buchanan, Rep. Pat Childers, Rep. David Miller and Rep. Owen Petersen. The Governor sent a letter expressing his support for the legislation to the bill’s sponsors, Thursday.