UT - Gun Law Relaxation Proposed

[Steven Mace]

Gun Law Relaxation Proposed
Wednesday, January 23, 2002

BY DAN HARRIE
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Utah lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it easier to obtain a concealed weapons permit by eliminating a safety course now required by law.

"I don't know that we need to worry about the class," said Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City.

"It doesn't serve that strong of a purpose."

Jenkins' bill, Senate Bill 121, was released from the Rules Committee on Tuesday and almost immediately scheduled for a hearing Thursday before the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee.

The Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah strongly opposes the measure.

"To have no screening process is just irresponsible. It has nothing to do with rights," said the center's Maura Carabello.

The 41,000 Utahns who have concealed-carry permits all have completed a gun-safety course or have military or law-enforcement experience.

But the quality of the classes, conducted by private instructors, is wildly inconsistent, according to a 1999 investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune and a 2001 review by Legislative Auditor General Wayne Welsh.

Some instructors require time on the shooting range as well as lengthy classroom review of gun laws and safety rules. Others meet minimum requirements of the law by having students show how to load and unload, but not fire, a handgun.

And some do not comply with the law, conducting classes that include no weapons handling.

Jenkins says it is time to do away with the course requirement. Instead, he advocates relying on the required criminal background check and on character recommendations in granting concealed-carry permits.

"If there was hard data out there that showed this was a problem I probably would go the other way" and require shooting proficiency to obtain a permit, Jenkins said.

"But I personally don't feel threatened by someone who has a concealed-carry permit who doesn't go through the class."

Rep. Scott Daniels, D-Salt Lake City, saw two of his bills tightening state gun laws quickly killed by the Republican majority.

He says the sudden emergence of this bill relaxing concealed-carry is frustrating, but not surprising.

"It's going in the wrong direction," said Daniels. "It's a good system [now in place]. It works. There's no reason to dismantle it now."

http://www.sltrib.com/01232002/utah/169967.htm

Steve Mace

[Steven Mace]

Utah lawmakers may debate gun rights in midst of Olympics

Associated Press
Jan. 25, 2002 08:00:00

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Legislature, which is so pro-gun it lets people carry concealed weapons into the legislative chamber, may air its perennial debate over gun control before thousands of Olympic visitors this year.

Just two weeks before the Winter Olympics begin, a legislator introduced a bill in the Senate to change the concealed weapons law to remove a requirement that a permit seeker take a class on gun laws.

At least 40,000 Utah residents already have concealed weapons permits, and the Legislature - mostly conservative, Republican and male - fervently supports Second Amendment rights.

But even some pro-gun lawmakers worry about the bill.

"No one's a bigger gun advocate than me, but I'm very worried we'll start issuing concealed weapons permits on a carte blanche basis," GOP Sen. Bill Hickman said. "They ought to have some proficiency. They ought to know how to handle a gun and know which end a bullet comes out of."

State law says concealed weapons can only be banned from airports, courts, jails, mental health facilities and Olympic venues. Private homes and churches also can ban them, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Scott Jenkins, said an audit determined the classes were a joke. He isn't particularly worried about the attention his bill might get if lawmakers debate it around the Olympics.

"What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong," Jenkins said.

Exactly when the bill might be debated is unclear. The Legislature will be in session for the next few weeks but will break for the Olympics, which begin Feb. 8.

Two gun-control bills that were introduced before the 2002 Legislature opened this week and have already died in committees. One would have required background checks of buyers at gun shows; the other would have eliminated a law that prohibits cities fro m enacting gun ordinances.

"The people up here, the depth of their feeling about guns is incredible," said Rep. Scott Daniels, the Democrat who introduced the gun-control bills. "I think this particular legislature is so much more farther to the right than the general population."

The debate may capture the attention of Olympic visitors, he said.

"People in other parts of the world think it's odd Americans want to be armed all the time," Daniels said. "I think it's going to scare them. They're going to think every third person at the opening ceremony is carrying a gun."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/breaking/0125UtahGuns-ON.html

Steve Mace