With the University of Wyoming and the State Building Commission considering new gun-related policies, keeping track of all the moving pieces can be difficult. 

Here’s what to know about what’s being proposed, upcoming meetings and opportunities for public input. 

At the Wyoming Capitol

The State Building Commission — a board consisting of Wyoming’s governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and superintendent of public instruction — advanced plans in October to allow firearms in certain areas of the Capitol. 

The concealed carry of firearms is currently prohibited in all of the Capitol. The proposed rules would repeal that restriction from the areas of the building overseen by the commission. During the legislative session, much of the Capitol falls under the authority of the Legislature. 

A previous proposal would have allowed only visitors with concealed carry permits to bring their guns into the Capitol, but the commission expanded it last month to include “constitutional” concealed carry, or the carrying of firearms permitted by the Second Amendment and no other licensure.

The expansion defines “constitutional carry” as carrying a concealed firearm “in a manner conforming” with a certain section of state law that would allow anyone to carry with a few exceptions including those who are younger than 21, those who have been committed to a psychiatric institution, those who’ve been to a state or federal treatment center for substance abuse in the last year, and those who “suffer from a physical infirmity which prevents the safe handling of a firearm.”

The majority of those who responded to an online survey conducted by the commission disagreed with earlier proposed changes. More specifically, 87% of the 138 tallied respondents opposed allowing guns in the Capitol. 

The proposed rules can be found at bit.ly/4eDRobN — the changes are underlined— and the commission’s statement of reasons can be found at bit.ly/4fv8ius. 

To weigh in, submit comments at bit.ly/3OfL8vU. The deadline is Dec. 13.

On the University of Wyoming’s campus 

Aside from law enforcement and those with explicit permission to have “dangerous weapons” in UW facilities, firearms are prohibited at Wyoming’s lone four-year public university. 

Next week, UW’s Board of Trustees will vote on whether to allow students, staff, faculty and members of the public with a concealed carry permit to bring their guns on campus so long as they give the University of Wyoming Police Department annual notice.

That notice would require a written acknowledgment and an agreement to carry the permit and identification at all times when concealing a firearm and to provide those two documents when asked by UWPD. 

Firearms would still be prohibited from certain areas of campus, and from certain campus events including: any facility used primarily for law enforcement operations or administration without written consent of the chief administrator, any detention facility, prison or jail, any meeting of the Legislature or a legislative committee, any meeting of a governmental entity, any school athletic event, college athletic event or professional athletic event not related to firearms. 

The draft policy can be found at bit.ly/4ezAJGk, starting on page 40. 

UW solicited public feedback in August, with 64.4% of respondents to an online survey saying they wanted the university’s no-guns policy to remain the same. The survey has since closed. 

The Board of Trustees’ vote is scheduled for 11:45 on Thursday, while public comment is scheduled for 11:15, per the agenda.

(WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.)