The sweeping HB133, which is nearly 9,000 lines long, makes a number of changes to the state’s gun laws, most of them very technical. The sponsor, House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, said the bill is aimed at “making it easier for law abiding citizens to understand their rights and for law enforcement officers to enforce the law.”
But there are also several substantive changes — the most controversial on Friday was allowing 18-year-olds to open carry.
Nine people spoke against the bill on Friday during a House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee meeting, including several doctors who worry loosening gun restrictions could lead to more shootings and suicides. An 18-year-old’s brain is not yet developed, they said, and state law should reflect that with increased restrictions on gun ownership.
Four people spoke in favor of Lisonbee’s law. They argued that the change is minor, since the law already allows 18-year-olds to carry firearms, under certain circumstances.
Ultimately, lawmakers sided with the latter group, passing the bill with only one “no” vote — the committee’s only present Democrat, Rep. Sandra Hollins, who represents part of Salt Lake City.
“If you oppose this bill, you are not prohibiting carry by 18- to 21-year-olds in Utah,” Lisonbee said on Friday, noting that current law already allows 18-year-olds to carry openly in their car and residence, and obtain a provisional concealed carry permit.
In addition to lowering the age for open carry, the bill removes the criminal penalties for carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle which, per Utah code, is currently a class B misdemeanor. It also eliminates the crime of carrying a loaded gun on a public street, also a class B misdemeanor.
Landlords would also be prohibited from restricting people from lawfully having a firearm in their residence. And the bill changes restrictions around short-barreled shotguns and other modified firearms to conform with federal law.
Read the full report at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
