An 18-year-old from Wyoming can “go and fight and die for their country.” Yet they can’t get a concealed carry permit, at least not without navigating extra hurdles.  Pointing to this contrast as a justification, Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, a Wheatland Republican, urged his colleagues Tuesday in the House to change the law.  House Bill 96, “Carrying of concealed weapons-age requirement,” — his proposal to lower the legal age for acquiring a concealed carry permit from 21 to 18 — subsequently sailed through introduction in a 57-4 vote. Haroldson’s three other gun bills also easily cleared the two-thirds approval threshold required to introduce legislation during budget years, hinting at yet another session that could further expand Second Amendment rights in Wyoming.  Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, during the 2026 Wyoming Legislature’s budget session in Cheyenne. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile) Haroldson has been the driving force behind numerous efforts to ease  Wyoming’s gun restrictions. Just last year, he tried to push an identical measure to HB 96 through the Legislature, but it stalled after failing to meet a procedural deadline. After previous attempts, however, he finally got House Bill 172, a measure to repeal gun-free zones in most public spaces, across the finish line. Gordon let the legislation become law without his signature, but not without some words of criticism.  “Gun free zones are not repealed — they are now determined exclusively by the legislature,” Gordon wrote in a letter last year to House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman regarding HB 172. The year prior, the governor vetoed the same measure.  Gun Owners of America, a national Second Amendment advocacy organization, worked with Haroldson on all four of his bills for this session, the organization’s national director, Buffalo resident Mark Jones, told WyoFile. Jones’ justification for HB 96 reiterated Haroldson’s words:  “We send 18 year olds off to war to fight for our Country. Surely, we can treat them like other adults in cases involving a Constitutionally protected Right,” he said in a text message.  Right now, someone who is between 18 and 21 years old can get a concealed carry permit if the sheriff of their county of residence writes a letter of recommendation for them to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The division then decides whether to issue the permit. HB 96 would do away with these extra steps.  Laramie Democrat Rep. Ken Chestek was among the handful of dissenting votes on HB 96 and other gun bills on Tuesday. He said he worries that dropping the age requirement for concealed carry permits could lead to more gun violence in the state. “My thinking is that the adult brain is not fully mature until after 21, actually,” Chestek told WyoFile. “To allow someone who is not mature to conceal carry is risky.”   Wyoming Gun Owners Director Aaron Dorr watches lawmakers work through legislation from the House gallery during the 2026 Wyoming Legislature budget session in Cheyenne. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile) The House also introduced in a 55-6 vote Haroldson’s House Bill 95, which would allow people authorized to carry concealed weapons without a permit to do so on any public college or university campus. During that vote, Wyoming Gun Owners Director Aaron Dorr sat in the House gallery watching lawmakers. (WyoFile asked to speak with Dorr about this year’s gun bills. He said in a text that “it’s a little too early to get into the details of WYGO’s program for 2026.”)  Haroldson brought another bill that adds teeth to Wyoming’s “Prohibit Red Flag Gun Seizure Act.” Gov. Mark Gordon signed the bill into law in 2024, making Wyoming among the first states in the nation to ban red flag gun laws, with some exceptions. Typically, red flag gun laws enable police and sometimes others to ask a judge to temporarily remove someone’s access to guns if they are believed to be a risk to themselves or others.  Haroldson’s House Bill 98 would tack on a misdemeanor to that law, punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and/or a year in prison if it is violated. The bill sailed across the introductory hurdle in a 55-6 vote on Tuesday. Lawmakers also pushed along Haroldson’s House Bill 97, which would bar the disclosure or use of information related to firearms and ammunition sales under certain circumstances. Midwest Republican Rep. Bill Allemand sponsored this bill last year, but it failed on third reading in the Senate.  Another bill that Gun Owners of America pushed, a measure that proposed compensating people who faced charges for killing someone in self defense, died on introduction Tuesday. It was the measure’s second go — last year, lawmakers didn’t consider the bill for introduction at all.  Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, during the 2026 Wyoming Legislature budget session in Cheyenne. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile) Casper Republican Rep. Art Washut also brought an amendment to a current Wyoming law that restores the right to own firearms for certain people previously convicted of certain felony and misdemeanor offenses. The amendment specifies that people who have had their right to own a firearm restored in another state will also have this right restored in Wyoming. The amendment received overwhelming support in a 59-1 vote.  There are a couple of new gun bills that lawmakers have yet to vote on: Rep. Robert Wharff and Senate President Bo Biteman have mirror Second Amendment bills in the House and Senate.  These bills still face a long journey through the Legislature. They will all undergo further scrutiny and several more votes in both the House and the Senate. For more legislative coverage, click here. The post House makes first move to expand concealed carry, other gun rights in Wyoming appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less