Legislation – 2021

Utah's 2021 Legislative Session started January 19th and ended at midnight Friday March 5th.

THANK YOU to all the USSC members and supporters, and other gun rights activists who showed up for hearings, sent emails or texts, or made calls in 2021.

EXCELLENT SESSION!
EIGHT USSC supported bills were passed and will become law if signed by Governor Cox, including "Common Sense Carry" also known as "Constitutional Carry."

TWO bills opposed by USSC were stopped.

Two USSC supported bills were passed by the House, but died in the Senate

BILL DETAILS- Click on the bill number in the first column for full text and status. This opens the official state page with full text of the bill.

2/12 Signed into law by Governor Cox, and will become effective May 5, 2021. "Common Sense Carry," or "Constitutional Carry." Any law abiding citizen who can legally carry a firearm openly can put on a jacket and conceal their legal firearm.
This does NOT eliminate the option of getting a concealed firearm permit for anyone wanting to have the advantage to carry in other states.

Thank you to everyone who worked on this bill for the last seven years. Special thanks to the 23 Senators and 51 Representatives who voted in favor of the bill. Please remember who they are when campaign season rolls around and they look for volunteers to help their campaigns.

To help educate people who want to carry concealed without getting a permit, we encourage people to take one of the classes offered by numerous instructors.
USSC is working on adding a variety of training materials on the USSC website which various people have recommended. (NOTE: USSC does not endorse any specific training other than by state certified instructors. Mention of any specific material will be for information only and the user is solely responsible for determining if the information is appropriate for their needs.)

Clarifies that Counties, cities, etc cannot make gun laws or require background checks not required by state law, and provides penalties for violations. (Yes, this is a smack down of Salt Lake County's attempt to impose firearms restrictions by telling their contractor, who runs the county owned Mountain American Expo Center, to require gun show promoters to conduct universal background checks or they cannot rent the facility. Shame on the SL County Mayor Jenny Wilson and District Attorney Sim Gill for the clear violation of the intent of existing state law!) 2/23 Passed by full House 56-16-3. 2/23 the Salt Lake County Council voted to ENDORSE HB 76! Thank you Council members for supporting the rule of law! 2/23 Passed by House 56-16-3 3/5 Senate failed to act so the bill was not passed.

The same bad ideas we have opposed in the past, which would force every gun transfer into a federal database, basically a de facto universal gun and gun owner registration scheme. They almost never prosecute criminals who illegally try to buy guns, so this is not about stopping crime. Historically, gun registration is eventually used for gun confiscation.
In addition, this scheme actually imposes a "poll tax" for the background check so you can exercise the right to keep and bear arms, with no limit on what a dealer can charge, on top of the mandatory state background check fee. This is a BAD BILL, much loved by all the anti-gun people, but with no real crime fighting benefits.

1/19 Assigned to House Rules Committee

This is a sneaky variation of a "Red Flag Bill" based on vaguely defined "workplace violence" to restrict firearms purchase or possession using the provisions of the dating violence protective orders in section 78B-7-404. This is not just a ban on a violent person taking a gun to work, but a blanket restriction on purchase or possession anywhere- for hunting, a collection, or legal self defense at home. NOTE- If lines 201-205 were removed, eliminating the gun purchase restriction, this would be a good bill.
1/25 Approved by Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee 7-0-0
2/3 Substitute bill approved by full Senate 29-0-0
Awaiting Action by Full House

Utah's 2021 Legislative Session started January 19th and ended at midnight Friday March 5th.

THANK YOU to all the USSC members and supporters, and other gun rights activists who showed up for hearings, sent emails or texts, or made calls in 2021.

EXCELLENT SESSION! EIGHT USSC supported bills were passed and will become law if signed by Governor Cox, including "Common Sense Carry" also known as "Constitutional Carry."

TWO bills opposed by USSC were stopped.

Two USSC supported bills were passed by the House, but died in the Senate

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EXCELLENT SESSION!
EIGHT USSC supported bills were passed and will become law if signed by Governor Cox, including "Common Sense Carry" also known as "Constitutional Carry."