The Cody Gunfighters may be able to shoot from the hip, but not this season.
The lack of insurance is keeping this band of skilled gun handlers from putting on a show as no company came forward to provide them liability coverage to meet the requirements set forth by the city council.
Local publication
Cody Enterprise reported that the council put out the requirements following an accident involving Cody Gunfighter Steve Winsor who mistakenly loaded his firearm with live munitions instead of the blanks normally used for the show.
Three spectators were injured in the July 2016 incident in Wyoming and charges were later filed against Winsor. The gunfights were also suspended for the 2016 tourist season.
As a safeguard, the city council now requires the Gunfighters to have a designated safety manager who is familiar with the blank ammunitions used for the gun shows to make sure the incident is not repeated in the future. Also, all Gunfighters now have to go through background checks to ensure that they are licensed to carry firearms.
Furthermore, the group must carry liability insurance to protect from any untoward incident - but the group has not had luck finding a carrier willing to take on their kind of risk.
“We can’t get insurance, so no gunfight. We’re all very disappointed,” Tom Moore, Cody Gunfighters secretary and treasurer, told the
Enterprise.
The group were given until June 01 to meet the new city council requirements.
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