Wyoming Drops New Mexico – OK Open Carry Starts

[Gary Slider]

The WY AG’s office called me and told me NM would be removed from their list of states they honor. They said it may be another week before they remove it. I was surprised they didn’t remove it much earlier as WY honors anyone who honors them and NM Dropped WY in late April.

Open Carry is legal in OK now. www.Handgunlaw.us doesn’t deal with Open Carry much but this new law came into play when I contacted OK about other matters. Seems OK is trying very hard to make sure all Law Enforcement is up to speed on the new law. Police/Sheriff Offices I contacted were very friendly and answered all my questions. Didn’t get the stuttering I get from many others when you ask specific questions about their laws.

The first of the year things will really pick up on the state level as many legislatures will start meeting. State RKBA’s Organizations will be pushing for changes that benefit us who carry firearms. There will also be those trying to restrict our right to carry. I have to state I don’t pay to much attention to any bills introduced as so many get introduced and die without a vote. There is no way I can track all of them. What I watch are those that have passed one house and have a good chance of passing the other house in the Legislature. Sadly many of these die or are amended to death.

If a bill passes one house in your legislature and has a chance to pass in the other please let me know. [email protected] A bill # would be greatly appreciated. Links appreciated but with the bill number I know where to look. I want to thank those who in the past have given me a heads up on legislature etc. Without your assistance Handgunlaw.us would not be what it is today.

[Wyoredman]

Gary, Did NM ever explain why they dropped WY? IT seems that some of these decisions are made willy-nilly.

My cousin is running for the State House seat representing my area, and if he wins next Tuesday, he promised to work on these reciprocity agreements. It would help me in my discussions with him if I understood some of the reasoning behind the ever-shifting list of States who have recipocity with Wyoming. Thanks.

[1-DAB]

from reading NM's website, they generally state that they honor states that have requirements similar to theirs. NM requires 15 hours of classroom instruction, live fire test. WY does not have such requirements, and now you can conceal carry without a permit in WY. thus, i suspect NM determined that WY does not have similar requirements.

[TMD]

A few months back New Mexico suddenly and with no explination dropped almost everyother state from their reciprocity agreement. Within a week or two they suddenly added back most of the states. They claim it had to do with age and training requirments but actually it had more to do with politics and gun control.

[Aguila Blanca]

Fifteen hours of classroom instruction for a carry permit is obscene. I would expect that from a northeastern blue state, but to see that from New Mexico simply astonishes me.

[1-DAB]

the original proposal was even worse.

when you are fighting the opposition, you take the victories you can get. rather that than no concealed carry at all.

took class from Gilmore Firearms Training http://www.nmcarry.com/

very good class, learned a lot actually, beyond what the law states.

[Gary Slider]

Wyoredman,

1-DAB answered your question. Many states have the same laws on who they will honor.

[youngunz4life]

new mexico is also the only state in the union that I am aware of that doesn't allow 2 guns to be carried while in possession of a CCW(you can only carry one...not sure if it has to be the same weapon all the time).

[Gary Slider]

Yep NM only allows one concealed firearm. You can carry one concealed and 50 openly but only one concealed. Only state that has such a law. You don't have to carry the exact same firearm all the time.

[1-DAB]

you can carry one (1) concealed gun at a time. you can carry as many as you want openly.

you qualify based on caliber, revolver and semi-auto (derringer too, but it's rarely done). you can carry up to the largest caliber you qual with.

ex: revolver, qual with 44mag. you can carry that caliber or any smaller in revolver, but you can't carry a 45colt (bigger cal).

semi-auto, qual with 45acp, same idea, so you could carry a 44automag (smaller cal, but more power), but not a 50cal desert eagle.

smallest cal you can qual with is 32 cal, but you can carry a 22LR once you qualify.

you can swap guns all you like, as long as you stay within your qualification boundaries. it's too your advantage to bring or borrow a big gun to qual day. after that, you can pick what suits your needs.

[Wyoredman]

1-DAB, Thanks for the reply. It seems like States are trying to use their politics to try and persuade others.

I do know that Wyoming does have a training requirement, but it doesn't spell out the specifics. Hunters saftey course completion and military service qualify for CCW, for example. Our local sportsmans association has a few NRA trained instructors who offer a once a year CCW course. If I remember correctly, it was one night a week for a month (4 nights after work) for afew hours each time. We also went to the local range on the last Saturday of the month and shot each others guns. Those that didn't have a firearm were allowed to try out everyone elses. We didn't have to "qualify" though. We were issued a certificate from the NRA as proof we took the course.

I guess that is just the way it is. Most people in Wyoming have handled guns most of their lives, way more than 15 hours worth! HaHa, just ironic that I can no longer protect myself if the Cowboys ever make it back the New Mexico Bowl (not gonna happen this year)!

[HarrySchell]

CA requires 16 hours, class and range. It can be a good class, mine was valuable, even if the "authorities" would not accept my cause to allow me to apply for a CCW.

South CA, in a "progressive" county.

[1-DAB]

my dad was in the nat'l guard in the late 50s. still has his papers showing he qualified with both rifle and pistol. that sufficed for his permit almost 50 years later.

i've been shooting since i was 5, i know safe gun handling, but i don't have any paper to prove it, other than i can put some holes in your target if you'd like.

another student showed up for the class i took. had never fired a gun. barely qualified (25 shots, 15 at 9 feet, 10 at 21 feet, at a 12x18 target, just have to hit the target). and in the eyes of the law, she's more qualified than my dad, who has been shooting for over 70 years. nuts.