Clarification of Wyoming’s concealed weapons statute
by Wyoming Division Of Criminal Investigation
July 19, 2011
The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office, Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), has received many inquiries about recent changes to the state’s concealed weapons statute. Some of those inquiries arose from an inaccurate statement, repeated in the news media, that DCI will no longer issue concealed weapon permits. That statement is incorrect.
Earlier this year, the state legislature amended Wyoming Statute Section 6-8-104. As amended, the statute allows Wyoming residents meeting certain qualifications to carry concealed weapons in Wyoming without a permit. The legislature did not, however, repeal or amend the portions of the statute that allow DCI to issue concealed weapon permits. The recent statutory amendment does not change anything about how DCI will issue concealed weapon permits. DCI has not stopped issuing permits, and will continue to issue permits in compliance with state statute.
By statute, no person, with or without a permit, may legally carry a concealed weapon into:
Any facility used primarily for law enforcement operations or administration without the written consent of the chief administrator;
Any detention facility, prison or jail;
Any courtroom, except that nothing in this section shall preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in the courtroom;
Any meeting of a governmental entity;
Any meeting of the legislature or a committee thereof;
Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic liquor and malt beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to that purpose;
Any place where persons are assembled for public worship, without the written consent of the chief administrator of that place;
Any elementary or secondary school facility;
Any college or university facility without the written consent of the security service of the college or university; or
Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law or regulation or state law.
Additional information, including the text of the relevant statute, is available online at:
http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/dci/pdf/CWP.pdf
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