By Jasmine Hall
Jackson Hole News&Guide
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

JACKSON — In Wyoming, government buildings ranging from the Capitol to the Department of Transportation, employees and visitors can now carry concealed firearms.

This was made possible when the Wyoming Legislature repealed almost all gun-free zones in public facilities during the 2025 session, including K-12 schools and universities, government meetings and college athletic events that don’t sell alcoholic beverages. 

House Bill 172, which enshrined the new law, went into effect on July 1. 

Officials across the state spent the summer deciding what safety guidelines could be put in place while adhering to the law aimed at advancing Second Amendment rights. On Thursday, the State Building Commission solidified its rules for firearms in state buildings. 

The commission is made up of the state’s top five elected officials and chaired by Gov. Mark Gordon.

In Jackson, people now can conceal a firearm when going to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department headquarters for a hunting license or taking their driver’s test at the Wyoming Department of Transportation office.

“This has been a long road,” Secretary of State Chuck Gray, a member of the commission, said. “I think back to when I first entered the Legislature in 2017 and we brought a bill to get this done, and it was vetoed by the governor.”

Gordon was governor in 2017. The two went back-and-forth multiple times during the Thursday meeting about the accuracy of the governor’s “record.”

“I don’t think we need to do this,” Gordon said. “But I also don’t think you need to take every opportunity to try to recount the history according to your timeline.”

In 2024, Gordon also vetoed a gun-free zone repeal law that closely mirrors the law passed this year, which he allowed to become law in 2025 without his signature. Had he vetoed the bill, the Wyoming Senate and House of Representatives would have likely overridden his decision. Both chambers passed the measure with veto-proof majorities.

The permanent rules the State Building Commission passed unanimously Thursday were identical to the emergency rules approved in June. 

Anyone in state buildings “engaging in permitted carry or constitutional carry” is allowed to, instead of only law enforcement or security personnel.

Open carry is still not allowed. Those who have a concealed firearm on them are “solely responsible for any injury or property damage” they cause.

Security is also allowed to request people carrying a dangerous weapon to relinquish the weapon if they fail to comply with the law or practice unsafe behavior. The weapon will be returned to them afterward, unless there is probable cause to detain the person or weapon. Those who fail to hand over the weapon won’t be allowed in the public building.

The guidelines for visitor rules in state buildings are brief, but a new Wyoming firearms policy for state employees approved in July digs deeper. 

It establishes a uniform workplace policy on carrying and storing firearms, similar to a policy the Teton County School District adopted this summer for staff and volunteers.

The four-page policy states that executive branch employees can carry concealed firearms “where permitted by law and policy,” but there are safety and liability expectations. Individual agencies can also not implement their own policy without approval from the governor.

Employees must notify their supervisor by email prior to carrying in the workplace. Their firearms, ammunition and accessories must be under their “direct control” or stored in a lock box. There are rules for carrying in a state vehicle and “brandishing, intimidation or unsafe firearm conduct” could result in disciplinary action, such as an employee’s firing. Training is highly encouraged.

The employee policy wasn’t the focus of the Thursday meeting, but Gray did say he was concerned with the employee expectations. Some of the requirements were “inconsistent with the statute,” he said.

“It’s a conversation I want to continue to have with the director and the governor’s office,” he said. “But I think that the law is very clear that we’re protecting our Second Amendment rights.”

State Treasurer Curt Meier also brought up the policy and wanted state agencies to provide high-caliber training. Gordon said he’s asked Wyoming Administration and Information Director Patricia Bach to create a budget item for ammunition for employees to go to the gun range and shoot.

“I just want to make sure everyone can have a gun, and then actually know how to use it,” Meier said.