Wyoming is an open carry state

A Thermopolis councilman expressed his concerns about problems residents and tourists might face during the weekend of the eclipse. I thought they were comical. However if he is right and I am wrong we could have problems. We do have a small police force.

I know a pastor who always “packed” in church when he preached. One Sunday, I told him “I was ‘packing.’” He said, “good.” I didn’t say “a bible.” A sheriff advised me to “pack” all the time.

I asked the police department if this letter is breaking any laws and an officer said, “No problem, it’s okay.” I will be “packing” that weekend; a gun doesn’t need to be loaded. Hopefully others follow their rights to “pack” that weekend. Wyoming is an “open carry” state.

Two reasons for this notion — one, it may convince anybody with nefarious intentions to think twice before they do something regrettable. The second reason is — I’m a lost romantic who remembers Wyoming in the early ‘50s as a kid. Cattlemen, hunters and others carried a revolver on their hip.

I would like visitors to take home a vision of folks who live securely and responsibly with guns, and with the idea that, well, Wyoming is still a little wild.