Free Republic

This is hilarious ... Liz tweeted a picture of her father wearing a mask and Rand responded by saying he thought the original one looked better... Click excerpt link to see >>

Like her neighbor to the west – which, quips Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, has been "socially distancing the entire 130 years that we have been a state" – Republican Gov. Kristi Noem says she won't shut down South Dakota in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Noem argues South Dakota isn't New York City, and her job is to protect the right of the people to take responsibility and care for themselves and their neighbors. Barrasso, a Republican, said Monday that Wyoming isn't ordering residents to stay home because social distancing already is occurring. Wyoming has just five people per square...

In Wyoming, Second Amendment supporters have been working to repeal “gun free zones” for years. Bill SF0088 in Wyoming would eliminate most “gun free zones” in the state in 2020. Here are the relevant portions of the bill: (b)  Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming under W.S. 6‑8‑104(a)(ii) through (iv) may carry a concealed weapon in the following places:(i)  Any meeting of a governmental entity;(ii)  Any meeting of the legislature or a committee thereof. (c)  Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming under W.S. 6‑8‑104(a)(ii) or (iii) may carry a concealed weapon in the following places: (i)  Any public school, public college or university or professional...

On Friday afternoon, the 14th of September, Mark Uptain, a hunting guide, and Corey Chubon, a bow hunter,  were attacked by grizzly bears as they processed an elk carcass. Chubon had mortally wounded the elk with an arrow, the day before, but they had not recovered it before nightfall. They came back the next day and followed a good blood trail to the dead elk.They had nearly finished processing it when they were attacked by the grizzly bears. The attack started with a full out charge.  Uptain was hit by the bear first, then Chubon, then the bear went...

A Wyoming Republican Party delegate is challenging a University of Wyoming ban on the carry of firearms in its facilities. The ban is enforced through trespass law. The circuit court has issued a stay on the criminal trespass proceedings, to allow the issue of the legality of the ban to be determined before the trespass case goes forward. From kpvi.com: LARAMIE — A criminal case in Albany County Circuit Court involving the University of Wyoming’s campus gun ban has received a stay, pending a separate civil action against UW seeking to challenge the legality of that ban.During the Wyoming...

Image by Troy Nemitz On May 31, 2018, about two o'clock in the afternoon, 23-year-old Noah Kolis was guiding three friends from Chicago. They started at his boyhood home near Cora, Wyoming. His dog, a Chesapeake-Lab mix, was with them. They were heading to some rock formations. Noah was carrying his 460V Smith & Wesson revolver. Two other men in the party were carrying bear spray.  The two men with bear spray had fallen 50 yards behind. The dog alerted on something. Noah thought it was some sort of big animal. Then he saw the bears, a grizzly sow...

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead signed HB 141 on 12 March, 2018. The bill reforms state law to restore First (freedom of religion) and Second (right to keep and bear arms) Amendment rights. The bill repeals existing state law that bans concealed weapons in any place people are assembled for public worship. From kemmerergazette.com: Monday, March 12, Governor Mead signed HEA 34 (HB 141). This not a gun bill; it is a government bill. “Concealed Weapons in Places of Worship” is not about whether concealed weapons will be in places of worship or not. It is about whether church or...

In early 2016, Chauncy G. Goodrich and his family started having problems with a young bull moose on their property near Pinedale, Wyoming.They were repeatedly chased by the moose. They tried various non lethal methods to haze the moose away. They worked for a short period, but the bull continued to hang around the area. By July of 2017, the non-lethal methods were exhausted and/or were no longer effective. Chauncy took a 7 mm Magnum with him as a precaution when he attempted to chase the moose off his property and away from his wife and young children.The bull...

An off duty Wyoming Game Warden, Chris Queen, was hunting elk in the Little Sunlight Basin north of Cody, Wyoming, not far from the Wyoming border. He was returning to his horses late in the day, about 6:30 in the evening. The sun had set 15 minutes earlier, but there was still considerable light.  A grizzly sow bluff charged Chris, then charged him full out. From ktvh.com:Queen told investigators he slowly backed away believing the sow would return to her cubs and move on. But, after returning to her cubs, the sow exhibited even more aggressive behavior.Suddenly, the animal...

Dave Smith, a well known author and expert on bear attacks, sent me a heads up on a proposed Grizzly hunting regulation.  In the  Wyoming Grizzly Bear Management Plan(pdf), on page 47, (page 55 on some pdf versions), dated  5/11/2016, is a regulation requiring that grizzly hunters carry bear spray. “All grizzly bear hunters must carry bear spray while engaged in the act of grizzly bear hunting (WGFC Regulation Chapter 16, pending)” When you are hunting bears, you would normally be carrying a rifle.  You would have to drop the rifle, then access and deploy the bear spray.  That does...

Wyoming County is picturesque rolling hills country dotted with apple orchards and maple groves located in the western part of the state. Both the state of Wyoming and Wyoming County are predominantly white 92% with similar per capita income. Where they differ significantly is in their ability to vote within a Republican Primary Election. Although the State of Wyoming has a population 10 times the size of Wyoming County, only a fraction of a percentage of Wyoming republicans are chosen to vote for the delegates that pick the presidential nominee. Wyoming County, NY had a 40% voter turnout in 2016....

Wyoming voters have sent a clear message to the GOP: The Equality State isn’t getting on the Trump Train. Voters, apparently unimpressed with the front-runner, almost shut him out completely at their Republican county convention on Saturday, giving him barely 7 percent of the vote. Precinct caucuses were held March 1, and under half of the state’s 29 delegates were up for grabs on Saturday — the rest will be doled out during Wyoming’s state convention in mid April — but Ted Cruz swept up three quarters of them, taking nine of the available twelve. Trump, who has won eleven...

Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis, a Republican who has represented the entire state of Wyoming in the House since 2008, said she will not seek re-election in 2016.In a statement, Lummis, said that representing the state “is a great honor and a serious responsibility,” but, “after much thought,” she has decided not to seek a fifth term. “I used my political capital in Washington to bring about reform and to represent the best interests of Wyoming. Now it is time for a new face to take on this important task for Wyoming,” she said.The sole woman member of the House Freedom Caucus, Lummis praised the body’s election...

The crack appears like a miniature Grand Canyon up close. (Photo: Randy Becker/Facebook) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A dramatic crack has suddenly formed in the foothills of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains that measures an impressive 750 yards long and 50 yards wide. It was discovered recently by surprised backcountry hunters who travel frequently to the area in search of game. First reported by SNS Outfitter & Guides, a hunting company, on their Facebook page, the mammoth chasm appeared over the course of just a couple of weeks. It's an impressive example of just how quickly very large geological events can occur under the right...

Republicans believe a Supreme Court ruling against ObamaCare this summer would give them leverage to force President Obama to scrap the healthcare law's central pillars. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who is leading the Senate GOP’s response to King v. Burwell, said Republicans will be willing to strike a deal with Obama to ensure that the 7.5 million people who stand to lose their subsidies are protected, at least until the 2016 elections. But in return, they would demand that Obama to do something he has long resisted: nix the employer and individual mandates for insurance coverage. “Is the president going...

A 150-mile stretch of Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Rawlins, Wyoming, remained closed Friday afternoon, more than 20 hours after major wrecks involving dozens of semi trucks forced police to close it down. Blinding, blowing snow hit southern Wyoming Thursday, creating impossible driving conditions that police say likely led to a series of three wrecks along the interstate. More than 30 commercial vehicles and 12 passenger cars were involved. Photos show the semi trucks piled up on one another. No one was killed, but about a dozen people were hospitalized.  Poor weather continued to hammer the area into Friday, complicating...

Wyoming seemed posed to repeal many of the gun free zones that have accumulated in the state over years of special pleadings, especially by the powerful education lobby.  HB0114 passed the house with an overwhelming 42 to 17 vote.  With a lopsided 26 Republicans to 4 Democrats in the Senate, the bill seemed assured of quick passage.  John Lott gave testimony in the Senate; his testimony was considered to be extremely effective. However, the Machiavellian politics of legislatures quickly became apparent.  Instead of the bill being assigned to the Judiciary committee, as was done in the House, it was...

A bill repealing most of the gun free zones in the state for concealed carry permit holders passed the house on a 42-17 vote.   The main sponsor of the bill, Allen Jaggi, R-Lyman, said that it is a public safety issue.  Most of the Republican supports reemphasized that point.  From reuters.com: Backers of the Wyoming bill argued it would increase the safety of children enrolled in Wyoming’s 48 school districts by allowing school employees, from teachers to janitors, to be armed in class and on campus grounds. Supporters pointed to the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, where a...

Gay couples in Wyoming will soon be allowed to marry after a federal judge on Friday struck down a state ban on same-sex nuptials and defendants in the case, including Gov. Matt Mead, announced they will not appeal. "I’ve never been prouder to be a Wyomingite," said Jeran Artery, who led the fight to legalize gay marriage through his work with Wyoming Unites for Marriage and Wyoming Equality. Gay couples are expected to start marrying in the next week. Some visited county clerk's offices Friday to begin the paperwork for marriage licenses. Other couples are relishing the thought that their...

A group of armed militia and protesters, some sporting nametags reading "domestic terrorist," remain camped out on a cattle ranch in Nevada, where they have been purportedly defending the property since a tense showdown ended with the federal government last week. A 20-year struggle between rancher Cliven Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management over decades of alleged illegal cattle grazing on public land ended last Sunday, with the government backing down from a controversial week-long cattle round-up. The BLM defused the standoff, citing safety concerns for its employees and the protesters, some of whom were on horseback and others...