Here is the statement that I am giving this afternoon.
I am here today to testify in favor of HB 114. As you are aware this bill allows citizens with CCW’s to carry into places that are now called gun free zones. However, we have seen by recent events that these places are not gun free. In fact they have been used by deranged spree killers as slaughterhouses, plan and simple. They are fully aware that they will not meet armed resistance, and can achieve a substantial body count before anyone will show up to stop them.
These are the very places that we need, more than ever, to be able to defend ourselves and our neighbors. These are the places where horrific tragedies are happening with more frequency.
Normally the response from legislative bodies such as this is to clamp down even harder. To put even more restrictions on our right to defend ourselves. Today this body has a chance to do something that no one else has had the courage to do. You have the chance to pass a bill that will ensure that the state of Wyoming will never see a Columbine, or a Sandy Hook, or even a Canadian Parliament incident. Criminals will think twice before attempting a massacre at a school, or a government building. Because they will know, that somewhere in that crowd, someone has the ability to stop them.
This is especially true in our schools. As it stands our teachers and our children are completely defenseless when they are at school. We will all remember the incident with Christopher Krumm at Casper College. While this may have been a more targeted incident, it proves that even in Wyoming, we are not immune to extreme violence in our public facilities.
I realise that many will tell you that this is unnecessary and that we have the police to protect us. What they will not confess to is that the police are under no obligation to protect us as individuals. (Warren v. District of Columbia 1981)
Also consider that Wyoming only has 1,961 sworn law enforcement officers total. (U.S. Bureau of of Justice 2008) You must also take into account the response times.
Compare that to having over 25,000 CCW holders in Wyoming with approximately 250-350 new applications every month. (Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation 2011) Is it not substantially more likely that a CCW holder would be in a position to stop an act of violence in our public facilities? The likelihood that a CCW holder would be at the scene if an incident were to occur is very good. This means that the response time to the incident would be measured in seconds.
The media and gun control advocates like to portray us as vigilantes, and that we are looking for a fight. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We look at the world and acknowledge that evil does exist. We understand that in a free society we are responsible for our own safety. We do not take this responsibility lightly. We are people that you see everyday, we interact with you at the grocery store, and at our children's soccer games. Yet no one ever knows that we are quietly protecting everyone around us. Isn’t it time that we are able to provide that protection in our public facilities?
I hope that I have given you cause to consider pushing this bill through. Despite what the opponents will tell you, this bill WILL make our public facilities safer. Our children, our teachers, and our public officials will be better protected. Common sense has always kept Wyoming one of the best places to live, and raise our families. And now we have the chance to make our public buildings the safest in the nation.
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