Utah lawmakers to again consider 'constitutional carry' gun bill

Utah lawmakers to again consider 'constitutional carry' gun bill

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SALT LAKE CITY — A state lawmaker wants to allow people to pack a concealed gun without a permit in Utah, a controversial proposal that has failed to become law the past few years.

Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, opened a bill file for the 2017 Legislature that would decriminalize carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

Perry, a Utah Highway Patrol lieutenant, said he's not running the bill as a member of law enforcement and it does not reflect the support of his employer.

"I'm sponsoring this legislation because I have constituents that believe this is a Second Amendment right," he said, adding that 11 states — including Wyoming, Idaho and Arizona — have passed similar laws.

Steve Gunn, of the Utah Gun Violence Prevention Center, said he's "really surprised" a law enforcement officer would sponsor the legislation.

"The question I would ask Rep. Perry is, 'What's wrong with the present system?'" he said.

Utah law allows guns to be openly carried, but it is against the law to have one under a jacket or in a purse without a state-issued permit.

Perry said his bill would not eliminate Utah's concealed weapons permit, which requires a background check and a firearms safety course. He said he encourages Utahns to continue to get permits because the program provides training and is cost-effective for those who choose to buy guns in this state.

"The intent of this bill is to not require Utahns who are law-abiding citizens and can already legally open carry to obtain yet another permit to concealed carry," he said.

Gunn said the proposed law would deprive police of the ability to find out if someone they stop with a gun has had a background check.

"I think it's a bad idea," he said, adding that previous versions of the legislation were also bad ideas.

Republican legislators have proposed so-called "constitutional carry" bills for the past several years, drawing opposition from Democrats, anti-gun violence advocates, the Salt Lake Catholic Diocese and law enforcement officials.

Last year, Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, decided to shelve his bill after GOP Senate leaders didn't show much interest in advancing the legislation during the deadly standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. He proposed making it legal to carry a concealed gun for anyone at least 21 years old.

The Senate approved the same bill Hinkins ran in 2015, but it didn't get through the House.

The 2013 Legislature passed former Rep. John Mathis' constitutional carry bill, but it didn't survive Gov. Gary Herbert's veto pen. Herbert cited police concerns that the law would make dramatic changes in the state's permit system.

Mathis, a Vernal Republican, said then that he ran the bill after being told of a rancher who was harassed by a federal law enforcement official for putting on a raincoat over a holstered weapon.

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Dennis Romboy

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