{"id":63512,"date":"2021-01-03T00:18:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T06:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=63512"},"modified":"2021-01-03T00:18:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T06:18:50","slug":"63512","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=63512","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Will Utah become the next state to drop concealed carry permit?<\/a><\/p>\n

A Utah lawmaker is furthering his bid to make Utah the next state to allow concealed carrying of firearms without a permit.<\/p>\n

And in case that doesn\u2019t work, another lawmaker is looking to suspend that permit requirement amid a declared state of emergency \u2014 whether that be for an earthquake, a flood and, yes, a pandemic.<\/p>\n

Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, is sponsoring\u00a0HB60<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Utah Legislature\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0upcoming 2021 general session, set to begin Jan. 19. The bill\u2019s language mirrors legislation he\u00a0filed in the final days of the 2020 session<\/a>, which would remove the state\u2019s requirement for law-abiding Utahns over the age of 21 to have a permit to lawfully carry a concealed firearm.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single person has the right to protect themselves,\u201d Brooks said, arguing that right should extend to people uncomfortable with openly carrying firearms. \u201cIt\u2019s allowing a law-abiding citizen to be allowed (to put their gun) under their jacket or a wife to put it in her purse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, 16 states allow concealed carrying of firearms without a permit: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, North Dakota (residents only) and Wyoming (residents only). Four others allow permitless concealed carry with certain limitations: Illinois, Montana, New Mexico and Washington.<\/p>\n

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Utah law currently allows people who are legally able to possess a firearm to openly carry their guns in public. A permit is only required for carrying a concealed firearm.<\/p>\n

Brooks said he\u2019s confident his bill will win the support it needs to become law \u2014 from both the Legislature and Gov.-elect Spencer Cox.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth Gov.-elect Cox and Lt. Gov.-Elect (Deidre) Henderson have said they would support a constitutional carry bill and look forward to working with the sponsors on the details,\u201d Cox\u2019s spokeswoman, Jennifer Napier-Pearce, said in a text Wednesday.<\/p>\n

In 2013\u00a0Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed a similar bill<\/a>, at the time arguing Utah\u2019s permitting system \u201chas been in place for decades, and in its current form for more than 15 years. In that time, it has become a national model.\u201d<\/p>\n

But since then, Brooks said studies have shown concealed carry permit laws don\u2019t have an impact on violence or crime. After four years of grappling with the issue, he said he\u2019s ready to make the case that Utah should do away with the concealed carry permit requirement altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really not a left and right issue,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cThis is just a good data issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks pointed specifically to a\u00a02019 study by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons<\/a>, which found state level concealed carry laws had no impact over 30 years, from 1986 to 2015, on homicide, violent crime and public health indicators.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo basically it does no good to take away someone\u2019s right to carry,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cThey see no difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, hopes Brooks\u2019 bill wins approval, but he\u2019s also running a more targeted bill,\u00a0HB61<\/a>, to suspend the concealed carry permit requirement during a declared state of emergency. If Brooks\u2019 bill passes, it will make Maloy\u2019s bill moot. But Maloy said he\u2019s still sponsoring the legislation in case Brook\u2019s bill doesn\u2019t succeed, arguing it would allow Utahns to exercise their Second Amendment rights discreetly amid times of fear and uncertainty.<\/p>\n