Many bristled at the Governor’s characterization of the Second Amendment as an “opportunity,” but nonetheless took it in stride as they had watched a few pen strokes sign the bill into law.
Micheal Pearlman, the Governor’s spokesman at the time, later issued a written statement saying,
“The Governor supported this collaborative effort that prohibits the enforcement, administering or cooperating with an unconstitutional act that infringes on Wyoming citizens' Second Amendment rights, [Gordon] is pleased that the bill's sponsors worked with the law enforcement community to ensure that it does not interfere with their ability to do their job.”
That was 2022. Four years evidently makes a big difference. SF102 made it a crime, punishable by a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, for any government agency in Wyoming to use “any personnel or funds appropriated by the legislature of the state of Wyoming or any other source of funds that originated within the state of Wyoming to enforce, administer or cooperate with any unconstitutional act, law, treaty, executive order, rule or regulation of the United States government that infringes on or impedes the free exercise of individual rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
This year’s version of the bill, SF0101, adds a civil penalty of $50,000 for any Wyoming agency that violates the existing law. It also broadens a few provisions of Wyoming’s SAPA law. Both Governor Gordon and the media, specifically the Cowboy State Daily (CSD), have gone to great lengths to mischaracterize the law.
Ironically, a section of the Cowboy State Daily’s March 6 article is titled, “As Written.” It begins by quoting Senate President Dennis “Bo” Biteman when he said, “Read the bill!” The Cowboy State Daily clearly did not follow Biteman’s advice.
Clair McFarland writes in the piece, “In addition to potential misdemeanors for officers, it would impose a $50,000 civil penalty, per violation, on federal and state officers and would remove sovereign immunity for those agents.”
This is not true for three reasons: first, the bill explicitly says the $50,000 penalty applies to departments and not to officers. The bill repeatedly says, in multiple sections, the law enforcement agency itself will be held liable. Here’s one example:
“The court, upon finding a violation as described in this section, shall impose a civil penalty against the agency, political subdivision or law enforcement agency in an amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) per violation and may order any injunctive or other equitable relief as permitted by law.”
Second, SF0101 does not and can’t impose a penalty on federal law enforcement officers.
Finally, the bill clearly does not remove “qualified immunity” from officers. It does, however, remove “sovereign immunity” from Wyoming law enforcement agencies. Qualified immunity applies to individual officers; sovereign immunity applies to government agencies. Not only did McFarland confuse the two principles, but she also falsely claimed that protections for officers would be removed.
Mark Jones, National Director for Gun Owners of America pointed out,
“False Statements about what SAPA does and doesn't do abound. Here are some of the most egregious examples: in 2022, criminal penalties for Wyoming officials who enforce Federal Gun Control were added to Wyoming statutes, so while referenced in this bill, criminal penalties are not being added. This bill adds provisions for civil lawsuits to be taken against an offending agency or department by a citizen. A civil penalty per violation can be assessed against an agency or department but not against an officer or official individually.”
Jones went on to say that there are several more examples pushed by the media and lobbyist around SF0101 that are just not true.
It is likely Governor Gordon will veto SF0101, given the interview he gave to the Cowboy State Daily Friday. He characterized the bill as an attack on police officers. It’s clear from the bill, as it deals with departments and agencies, that it’s not.
I spoke about SF0101 on today's edition of Cowboy State Politics. SAPA has a fairly turbulent history in Wyoming. It was contentious getting the first version passed and all indications are this version won't be any different. One thing is clear, however Republican Wyoming is, meaningful firearm legislation is no easy task.