Since 2021, individuals with a valid concealed carry license have been able to bear arms on the campuses of Utah's public colleges and universities. That wouldn't change under HB 84, but how those guns can be carried would.
At the moment, concealed carry licensees can choose to bear arms either openly or concealed. An amended version of HB 84 would limit gun owners solely to concealed carry, but would also drop the requirement that individuals possess a valid carry license before they can bear arms on campus. Instead, as is the case off campus, so long as they can legally possess the firearm they can legally carry it.
Rep. Walt Brooks, who represents St. George and whose legislative biography notes he is a member of the National Rifle Association, announced his significant about-face on HB84 during a committee meeting late last week.
“Open carrying does cause a lot of concern with a lot of people, especially on campuses,” he said during a hearing on his measure before the House Public Utilities and Energy Committee. “Working with the higher education commissioner, we removed that piece.”
... Several gun advocates spoke in support of the measure during the committee hearing, including the Utah Shooting Sports Council and the Utah chapter of Women for Gun Rights.
Drew Wilcox, a professor at Utah Tech University, said he supports gun rights and teaches hunter education courses. But he said open carry on campus does cause anxiety. He supports permitting only concealed carry.
“I do see a definite need there,” he said. That “allows up to do our jobs and feel safe on campus.”
Rep. Rex Shipp, R-Cedar City, raised questions about what the measure would mean for students who want to have guns in their dorm rooms.
“We live in a state of hunting,” Shipp said. “We all do a lot of hunting.” He added, specifically nodding to Brooks: “I know you do.”
He asked: If a student wanted to go hunting, could they bring their rifle into their dorm room under the updated measure?
Brooks noted that HB84 would prohibit that. A student would need to leave it in their car.
That also is a significant change: Students had previously been able to keep open carry weapons in their dorms. But roommates who were uncomfortable living with someone who had a gun could request another room assignment.
Under current Utah law, 18-to-20-year-olds must still obtain a provisional carry license in order exercise their right to bear arms. HB 84 wouldn't change that, but those individuals could still carry on campus provided they have their license. And once they turn 21, they'd be able to carry under the state's Constitutional Carry law.
I'm not sure I agree with Wilcox that there is a "need" to ban open carry on campus, but if the tradeoff is that these spaces are open to permitless carry I suspect most gun owners in the state would be okay with that change.
The issue about storing long guns in vehicles instead of in dorm rooms, though, really needs to be fixed. Ideally, the status quo would remain in place, but if lawmakers are really intent on keeping rifles and shotguns out of dorm rooms themselves then they need to ensure there is a place on campus where those firearms can be securely stored instead of just leaving them in a vehicle. It could be a repository in each dorm or a central location on campus, but I think it's a terrible idea to tell students to just leave their rifle or shotgun in the trunk of their car or the passenger compartment of their truck or SUV where it could easily be stolen.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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