As you are reading this letter, legislators are moving into their long-term hotels in Cheyene, gearing up for the kickoff of the 2025 legislative session.
Sessions begins on January 14, just a few days away.
With Republicans having massive majorities in the House and Senate (and a mandate from the voters clearly conveyed on November 5) this is our year to MASH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR!
There’s a lot that we need to do to solidify and strengthen our gun rights, and this is the best time to do it in years.
We’ve got endless opportunities in Cheyenne.
But we also need to press our advantage in Congress, and help President Trump pass National Reciprocity, a bill he said he would happily sign IF Congress puts it on his desk.
After four of years of fighting to hold the line against Joe Biden, I want to engage WYGO in as many fights as possible.
But I need to be realistic.
Having spent so much money on the primary and general election (which was wildly successful) — and after we spent so much passing Senate File 109 into law last year — we cannot afford to engage in all of these fights at the same time.
In the wake of our general election program, and as part of gearing up for 2025, our team has been reviewing our budget.
(This is the only part of my job that I don’t like.) 🙂
Now that we’ve had our budget meeting (and know the updated political situation at a detailed level) we have some tough choices to make about the upcoming session.
But unlike many organizations that just tell their members what they want them to hear, this isn’t ‘my’ organization.
WYGO’s board has always understood that this is a member-driven organization and that we work for you! And that’s why we need to hear from you, right away.
Where do YOU want us to focus in 2025?
How do YOU want us to spend the donations you give us?
To get your feedback, I have prepared a special “2025 WYGO Members Only Ballot” and included it below. Please take a minute to read this and then complete your ballot right away.
Without a doubt, the biggest opportunity we have in Congress in 2025 will be our chance to finally pass a National Reciprocity law.
H.R. 38 has been gaining ground for years.
It has hundreds of co-sponsors.
And it would simply let Wyomingites carry nationwide under the authority of our Wyoming carry permit. It’s just like a driver’s license; wherever it’s issued, it’s good nationwide.
Without this law, we’re continually rolling the dice driving into ‘blue’ states like Oregon, Washington, and others.
Yes, there are ‘peaceable journey’ laws.
But it so often doesn’t work that way in real life depending on the state you’re in and the officer you are dealing with. And when a gun owner is charged with this, it takes years to deal with it.
The good news is that President Trump has already put out a policy video telling the American people that he will sign this bill into law, IF Congress puts it on his desk.
But there are plenty of things that need to be done to increase Second Amendment freedom here in Wyoming, too.
The biggest issue may be fixing the issues with our Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), which was passed in 2022.
As you may remember, WYGO introduced SAPA that year as a way to protect Wyoming from the threat posed by Joe Biden. SAPA would have told the feds that they could not use Wyoming cops to enforce federal gun control laws or Executive Orders.
The bill also banned the feds from using Wyoming cops in federal task forces that were designed to confiscate guns.
And in case some jurisdictions ignored SAPA, we had civil penalties in the bill that would have allowed an impacted gun owner to take the agency into civil court for damages.
But as you’ll likely recall, that’s not the version that became law. SAPA was deliberately sabotaged.
The RINOs stripped out the civil penalties.
Then they removed the language that prevents task forces.
Then the section that prevented Wyoming cops from enforcing federal gun control was gutted in its entirety.
The bad news is that the language the RINOs and Governor Gordon passed didn’t protect anyone, other than political careers in the 2022 primary election.
The good news is that gun rights champions like Senator Biteman, Senator Salazar, and Representative Wharff are chomping at the bit to fix the problems with this legislation.
This is going to be a fight. But if we get this done under a Trump presidency, we’ll be ready for the next time a Democrat gets into the White House!
So if you think our top priority in 2025 needs to be fixing the issues with the Second Amendment Preservation Act, please mark OPTION #2 “FIX WYOMING’S SAPA LAW” on your member ballot.
Of course, there is another fight we need to finish, too.
Wyoming has had a problem with so-called ‘Gun Free Zones’ for a long time. We can’t carry in the Capitol; we can’t carry on any UW property; law abiding adults can’t carry on school grounds, etc.
These are the places where murderers go to rack up a body count. We’ve seen it dozens of times over the last twenty years. These ‘Gun Free Zones’ are lethal — they must be repealed.
WYGO has come very close, twice.
In 2017, when he was still a State Representative, Bo Biteman carried this bill for WYGO. We passed it through both chambers and put it on Governor Mead’s desk.
And as you know, last year, we did it again. HB-125 was a carbon copy of our bill from 2017 and it passed through both chambers only to have Governor Gordon veto it.
It’s time to finish this fight.
The good news is that 2025 is not a short budget session. That means that we’ll have time to override a veto from Governor Gordon should he veto it again.
In fact, I am confident that there are a lot of legislators who are just waiting for the chance to override Gordon if he does this again this year!
Our job is to put the bill on his desk.
As you can see, there is a lot going on in 2025.
The impact of passing National Reciprocity would be huge!
The impact of passing a strong SAPA law in Wyoming would be huge. So would repealing deadly ‘Gun Free Zones!’
But as I said at the beginning of this letter, after all we accomplished in 2024, WYGO simply can’t afford to run full mobilization programs on each of these issues right now.
That’s why I need to hear from you.
With the legislature and Congress convening for 2025 in just a couple of days, where do you want us to focus? Please letme know right away, by filling out and returning your “2025 WYGO Members Only Ballot.”
When you review your member ballot, you’ll see that I have included another option. And if I’m being honest, this is the option I hope you’ll select…even if it seems crazy!
Option #4 IS FIGHT FOR NATIONAL RECIPROCITY, WORK TO ENHANCE SAPAW LAW, AND REPEAL DEADLY ‘GUN FREE ZONES.’DO IT ALL! FIGHT EVERYWHERE!
But, again, we can’t afford to fight on all fronts as things are today.
So if you choose Option 4, I hope that you’ll consider a very generous donation to help us run our full scale mobilization programs on these bills.
If you can afford to donate $100, now is the time.
If you can afford to donate $50, now is the time.
If you can afford to donate $25, now is the time.
The amount of your gift is always up to you. But after four years of defense against Biden’s attacks on our gun rights, it’s time to go on offense — as hard as we can!
The General Assembly is convening in just days; I need to hear from you as soon as possible.
For Wyoming,
Aaron Dorr
Policy Advisor
Wyoming Gun Owners
P.S. The 2025 legislative session begins on January 14, and I need to make some very difficult decisions about where to focus our resources and our time this session.
Please fill out your “2025 WYGO Members Only Ballot” today! After you do, please consider a donation of $100, $50 or $25 to help us fight for freedom next session!