CHEYENNE, WY. — The Wyoming chapter of Moms Demand Action, part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, issued the following statement after the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees voted to reject a proposal to allow the concealed carry of firearms on campus. The proposal would have allowed students, staff, and even members of the public with concealed carry permits to carry firearms on campus.
“Our students deserve the opportunity to learn in peace. We will stand up for their right to a safe education, from kindergarten to the college classroom,” said Erika Cole, a volunteer with the Wyoming chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Our students have grown up in a country where gun violence has become an expectation. We must stop normalizing the presence of guns in their spaces under the guise of safety, especially when it has proven ineffective.”
While concealed carry is prohibited at the vast majority of colleges and universities nationwide—either under state law or by school policy—the gun lobby has made it a priority in recent years to pass state laws requiring schools to allow guns on campus. More information about concealed carry permits in college campuses is available here.
Wyoming has one of the highest rates of gun deaths and gun suicide in the country, along with some of the weakest gun laws and high rates of household firearm ownership. In an average year, 139 people die by guns in Wyoming. With a rate of 23.2 deaths per 100,000 people, Wyoming has the seventh highest rate of gun deaths in the US. More information about gun violence in Wyoming is available here.