Date: March 1, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus (KGOC) released the following statement in response to HB 172 becoming law in Wyoming.
The University of Wyoming mascot is a cowboy high on his bucking horse, one hand clutching the hat, the other holding onto the saddle for dear life. It speaks to the adventurous, wide open spaces of wide open Wyoming. A more playful rendition of the mascot is grasping something else, an item now permitted by the recently passed House Bill 172 to be grasped by anyone wishing to do so – willingly and readily within reach be it in government buildings or campus dorms – a firearm.
“Coming here, we are hoping to snap them back to reality to make them realize they have constituents they took an oath to serve,” Associated Students of the University of Wyoming Director of Community and Governmental Affair Sophia Gomelsky said. “When we aren’t being listened to, we can’t just go on as usual when legislation is actively putting us in danger.”
Despite the policies and desires of local jurisdictions to maintain “gun-free” safe zones, advocates for sensible, community-safety solutions, which include courageous school leaders, brave college students and compassionate community activists, backed by a Republican governor who saw through this “political bomb” for what it truly is, HB 172 will breeze onto campuses like the Yellowstone winds with hardly a windbreaker in its way.
The political calculus was clear and thus a veto never materialized. The governor chose to make his statement loud and clear by simply not signing the bill at all, placing the responsibility for its passage solely on the extreme nature of his own party, its majority propelled by windstorms evident in the new era of rash actions crossing the nation since January.
“Such a lack of regard for the principle of ‘government closest to the people’ so fundamental to our Republic is stunning,” Gordon wrote. He later added, “I am left to imagine this legislative session was never about ‘self-defense’ or a common-sense effort to extend carry rights. More to the point, it was always about the legislature grabbing power.”
The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus joined several organizations in the effort to stem the rapid momentum of HB 172, a mounting challenge in the new national climate where haste is central to strategy. KGOC joined Associated Students of the University of Wyoming and Wyoming Moms Demand Action in the outreach. As KGOC absorbs the news, hope that change, and long-term appreciation for the tumult of our times, will turn toward reason and common sense in due time. Voices on the ground in Wyoming provide such hope. The governor’s words were pointed and illuminating. He clearly sees what he, citizens and all in the gun violence prevention movement are facing. With suicide rates in Wyoming among the highest in the nation (and firearms the most lethal form of self harm), safe storage and access to lifelines will be more essential than ever across the state. Keeping guns off campus is not beholden to whims of the most recent legislation. Education, violence interruption, behavioral awareness as well as creative cultural shifts will be elements required in the new norm of widespread firearm access, up to and beyond the next cycle of introduced bills in the Cowboy State. Like the mascot, the call is to hold on … for dear life.
Associated Students of the University of Wyoming Director of Community and Governmental Affairs Sophia Gomelsky, the organizer of Monday’s die-in protest at the state Capitol, talks to Gov. Mark Gordon outside his office. Students protested against legislation repealing gun-free zones. (Ivy Secrest/Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Founded in 2008, The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus works with K-12 schools, colleges and universities across the country to oppose legislative policies that would force loaded, concealed guns to be carried on campuses. Through education, outreach, coalition-building, and legal action, The Campaign works to foster a safe learning environment for all and is the only national organization of its kind tasked with protecting higher educational institutions and the communities they serve.Follow us on Facebook, BlueSky, X and Instagram.
Contact: John McKenna, The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus ([email protected])
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