An effort to add a three day waiting period to handgun purchases has been defeated by a Wyoming legislative committee. The House Judiciary Committee voted 8 to 1 against the bill from Laramie Representative Cathy Connolly.
The waiting period was requested by Laramie resident Jim Kearns whose son used a handgun to commit suicide in August. Kearns says his son bought the gun to kill himself.
“I found in his pickup truck a receipt for a pistol that he had bought the afternoon before along with some ammunition and a few hours later he was gone.”
But pro-gun supporters say a waiting period could put someone at risk. Michelle Sabrosky of Wyoming Gun Owners used the example of a woman being harassed by a stalker.
“And maybe she doesn’t have a firearm and maybe she feels the need to go out and get one to protect herself. In three days she may be dead.”
State health officials say that handguns are used in the majority of Wyoming suicides.