ST. GEORGE — Various firearms-related bills are making their way through the Legislature this year. Among the pending legislation are proposals that would declare Utah a Second Amendment sanctuary state, allow for voluntary background checks for private sales, waive conceal carry permit fees for certain individuals, among other measures.
Second Amendment sanctuary state declaration
A bill that has passed the House and is making its way through the Senate is the firearms regulations bill, officially designated HB 219 in the 2023 Utah Legislature, sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, who has other firearms-related bills on the table this year. If passed, this bill would declare Utah a Second Amendment sanctuary.
Lisonbee is also the sponsor of firearms-related House bills 107 and 120.
HB 219 states that Utah “and its political subdivisions will not enforce federal regulations that purport to restrict or ban certain firearms, ammunition, or firearms accessories.”
Federal regulations are defined as: “a federal executive order, rule, or regulation that infringes upon, prohibits, restricts, or requires individual licensure for, or registration of, the purchase, ownership, possession, transfer, or use of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm accessory.”
However, this does not include preexisting federal firearm statutes or related regulation that is already a part of Utah law.
While this bill would not provide state manpower or funding for the enforcement of what may be perceived to be anti-Second Amendment regulations, the bill doesn’t prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from aiding their federal counterparts in criminal investigations that are unrelated to policies the bill would otherwise target.
“It’s important that we assert as a state our commitment to the Second Amendment,” Lisonbee said during a meeting of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee held Feb. 2.
HB 219 passed the committee in an 8-2 vote and then passed the House last Friday with a 60-3 vote that was primarily along party lines.
Southern Utah Reps. Walt Brooks, Joseph Elison, Colin Jack, Neil Water and Rex Shipp voted in favor of the bill, as did Sens. Don Ipson, Darrin Owens and Evan Vickers. Vickers is also the Senate floor sponsor for HB 219.
Unless noted otherwise, Southern Utah’s representatives and senators also supported the following bills with their votes.
Waiving conceal carry permit fees for school employees
The concealed weapons permit fee amendments bill, officially designated HB 107 in the 2023 Utah Legislature, waves conceal carry permit fees for the employees of public, private and character schools who are physically present at the school’s campus at least 50% of the time it is in session. While Utah became an open carry state in 2021, concealed firearms are not considered legal on school campuses unless the person carrying has a state-issued permit.
Lisonbee said in a Senate committee meeting Tuesday that 90% of people in Utah who held conceal permits before the law changed continue to maintain their permits due to the benefit of reciprocity with other states. The cost for the state permit is around $60 and would be waived for school employees if the bill passes.
HB 107 passed the House in a 57-12 vote with each of Southern Utah’s representatives voting in favor of the bill. It also passed the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday with a favorable recommendation to the Senate.
Restoring the ability to possess a firearm
The weapon possession amendments bill, officially designated HB 120 in the 2023 Utah Legislature, unanimously passed both chambers of the Legislature with a Senate vote last week. The bill allows an individual originally convicted of a misdemeanor-level crime involving domestic violence, yet has had their conviction reduced or expunged through a court order or pardon, to no longer be counted as a “restricted individual” in relation to owning a firearm.
The Libertas Institute, a libertarian-leaning think-tank in northern Utah that supports the bill, stated on its website: “When a person has fulfilled all of the requirements to earn an expungement, they should be treated as if the offense never happened.”
This bill also brings Utah into compliance with aspects of existing federal law. Sen. Vickers also co-sponsored this bill.
Voluntary background check
The sale of firearm amendments bill, HB 226, authored by Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, creates a voluntary background check system for private firearms sales in the state. The current form of the bill gives the seller and the buyer the option to check an online system showing whether the gun being sold has been reported stolen and if the person buying the gun has a valid conceal carry permit. The original draft of the bill was broader in its application.
Maloy has stressed to both St. George News and his fellow legislators that the process is completely optional, as attempting to make it mandatory could run afoul of the Second Amendment. Currently, under Utah law, the private sale of firearms does not require a background check if done between Utah residents.
HB 226 passed the House with a unanimous vote on Feb. 1 and passed a following Senate committee hearing held last Friday.
Background checks for returning a firearm
The firearm possession amendments bill, designated HB 225 in the 2023 Utah Legislature, was sponsored by Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, who described it as a “clean up bill” during a Senate committee hearing held Feb. 6. The bill requires law enforcement to run a background check on individuals wanting the return of a firearm previously ceased by police as evidence.
In some instances, Wilcox said, authorities have returned guns to people who were “restricted” from owning firearms due to their criminal history. HB 225 is meant to close that loophole and others found in state code.
Wilcox’s bill passed the House on Jan. 31 and is making its way through the Senate, having received a passing vote for a third reading on the Senate floor last Friday.
Voluntary firearms restriction
Sponsored by Rep. Steve Elison, R-Sandy, HB 300 modifies prior legislation that allows an individual to request that authorities add them to a restricted persons list that removes their ability to buy or possess firearms due to concerns of self-harm and suicidal ideation. However, in order to get on the list, the person requesting it has to go to the police in person to sign the necessary paperwork.
Elison’s bill allows a person wanting to get on the list to have a qualified health care professional act as a witness to the signing of the paperwork and can then submit it to authorities. The name remains on a state-level restriction list and is not shared with a federal-level restriction database.
The bill also allows someone whose name is on the list to request its removal at any time following 90 days after the name’s submission.
HB 300 unanimously passed the House on Feb. 6 and was followed by favorable recommendation to the Senate proper Monday by the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee.
Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2023 Utah Legislature here.
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