Legislator pulls firearms bill, says it was mischaracterized

GILLETTE — A Campbell County state legislator has withdrawn a controversial bill he’d proposed on firearms reporting for national background checks.

Rep. Bill Pownall, a Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee, has withdrawn House Bill 59 from consideration in the state Legislature’s 24-day budget session that started Monday.

The bill and its sponsor have been the target of much criticism on social media since it came up for introduction. It would have had to receive a two-thirds majority vote in the House just to be considered, which was seen as unlikely to happen.

On Thursday, Powna...