UPDATE: Please see the letter received from the governor's office 11/25/2009 on the last page of this thread. Wyoming residents please contact your legislators..
Just came across this on another site. Posted by a Wyoming LEO:
State of Wyoming Dave Freudenthal, Governor
Office of the Attorney General
Division of Criminal Investigation Bruce A. Salzburg
Forrest C. Bright, Director Attorney General
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Wyoming Sheriffs
All Wyoming Chiefs of Police
FROM: Forrest C. Bright, Director
DATE: February 12, 2009
RE: Concealed Firearm Permit Reciprocity
I am writing to let all the agencies in Wyoming know of substantial changes resulting from review of other states’ concealed firearm criteria. The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office recently completed examination of the other 49 states statutes for the purpose of honoring concealed firearms permits issued by another state, or reciprocity.
Pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-8-401(a)(iii), Wyoming will recognize a permit from another state that “has laws similar to the provisions of this section, as determined by the attorney general . . ..” The Wyoming Attorney General has determined that with the exception of 8 states, presently all the others concealed firearm permit statutes are not sufficiently similar to Wyoming’s. Specifically, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-8-104(b)(v) prohibits issuance of a permit to any person who has been convicted of a controlled substance violation, felony or misdemeanor in any jurisdiction. Most other states’ analogous statutes do not.
The Wyoming Attorney General holds that if a misdemeanor drug conviction disqualifies a Wyoming resident, is also needs to disqualify an out-of-state permit holder. Due to the difference in how each state handles controlled substance convictions, Wyoming is also limited in our ability to maintain reciprocity with states we may have previously.
Accordingly, as of March 1, 2009, Wyoming can only honor concealed firearm permits issued by the following states: Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma, Maryland, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Utah.
That's just great. Guess I won't be visiting Wyoming for awhile until this is all straightened out. I would guess most states not listed will decline reciprocity for Wyoming after this.
I already wrote the Governor.
I also sent a copy to NRA-ILA for good measure.Gov. Freudenthal,
As a resident of Colorado and a former frequent visitor/tourist to your fine state, I find it troubling that starting March 1, 2009, Wyoming will no longer honor my Colorado concealed carry permit and will, in fact, terminate reciprocity for all but the following 8 states: Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma, Maryland, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Utah. Utah, of course, is the only state listed which is contiguous with Wyoming.
According to your website, "The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office eagerly seeks reciprocity with other states pertaining to the concealed carry of firearms, and continues to negotiate with other states for reciprocity in this area." I fear that the upcoming denial of reciprocity for all but 8 states per the letter issued from Forrest C. Bright, Director Attorney General to all Wyoming sheriffs and all Wyoming Chiefs of Police is not in keeping with that statement. I would assume that most states will, at some point shortly after Wyoming denies them reciprocity, act in kind.
I have become very comfortable knowing I have the ability to protect my family as I, a physician and law-abiding citizen, travel with a concealed firearm. I'm afraid that my tourism dollars must now be spent elsewhere and no longer in the state of Wyoming because I will be forced to give up this protection on entering your state after March 1st.
I look forward to the time when Wyoming will once again welcome my family, my tourism dollars, and my concealed carry permit across your state lines. I would also assume this issue will be brought up in the near future by the NRA.
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Originally Posted by Buckaroo
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