Utah representative proposes bill to allow 18- to 20-year-olds to openly carry firearms

SALT LAKE CITY — A newly proposed bill would allow 18- to 20-year-olds to openly carry firearms in most public spaces in Utah and prevent landlords from enforcing lease agreements that bar firearms from the premises.

The bill is being sponsored by state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, the House majority whip, and was presented to the Legislature‘s Criminal Code Subcommittee on Sept. 16. Since that hearing, the 101-page legislation has already undergone some meaningful changes to clarify its purpose, prompted by questions from KSL.com.

Lisonbee told KSL.com Monday that the bill began as an effort to recodify outdated or convoluted sections of statute but evolved into a broader effort to address gun rights in the state because some of the current regulations around firearms are “contradictory and often confusing.”

“The goal of the bill is to clarify firearm law in the state of Utah because citizens should know their rights,” she said. “This process subsequently raised several policy questions; and when those policy questions came up, I attempted to align (the proposed bill) with legislative intent that protects Utahns in exercising their fundamental Second Amendment rights.”

In addition to recodifying sections of statute, she said the bill allows any adult to openly carry legally obtained weapons in most public places and clarifies code to allow renters — including students on campus — to possess legal firearms on their rented property. It also adds some protections for adults who allow minors to use firearms on shooting ranges or for hunting, she said.

“One of the precautionary reasons why we are doing this is because we found that a lot of people may be violating the law without even knowing it,” Lisonbee said. “I also want to be very clear that there are no changes in this bill that remove Second Amendment rights for Utahns.”

Open carry laws

Utah is considered a “constitutional carry” state, meaning residents can conceal carry without a permit, thanks to a 2021 law signed by Gov. Spencer Cox. Adults over the age of 21 can also legally openly carry firearms in most places in the state.

Lisonbee said the distinction between 18- and 21-year-olds could be seen as discriminating based on age. She referenced a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, in which the court held that carrying a pistol in public is protected by the Second Amendment.

“We’re seeing that, especially under Bruen, otherwise law-abiding adults being differentiated by age as the sole basis is unconstitutional,” she said. “So, we are simply saying 18 instead of 21. We want to be mindful that when you’re 18, you can sign up to serve in the military, and we treat — under the law — 18-year-olds as adults in many other instances.”

She also said current law is contradictory on carrying loaded weapons in public. Chapter 10, Section 505 of Utah’s criminal code states that “a person may not carry a loaded firearm … on a public street,” but a later section of that same code states that Section 5050 does “not apply to a person 21 years old or older who may otherwise lawfully possess a firearm.

The bill is meant to reconcile those seemingly contradictory sections and expand open carry access to all legal adults, Lisonbee said.

The proposal states that “an individual 18 years old or older may carry a firearm, that the individual may otherwise lawfully carry, in an open manner: in a vehicle in which the individual is lawfully present; on a public street; or in any other place not prohibited by, or pursuant to, state statute or federal law.”

Lisonbee said the law still allows private businesses, such as movie theaters or stadiums, to prohibit firearms on the premises.

Firearms in apartments and dorms

In Lisonbee’s opinion, current law prevents landlords from preventing their tenants from having firearms in their rented residence, but she said there is some confusion and she hopes her bill will clarify that policy.

“The current law is very clear, we think, but we’re clarifying it even further as there has been some misconception amongst the public,” she said. “What the bill clarifies is that property owners cannot restrict an individual from lawfully possessing a firearm at their residence.”

She said that applies to universities in the state, where students live in on- or off-campus housing.

Firearm possession by minors

Under Utah law, minors are not permitted to possess dangerous weapons without parental permission and oversight. The law enhances the crime of possessing a dangerous weapon to a third-degree felony if the weapon is “a handgun; a short-barreled rifle; a short-barreled shotgun; a fully automatic weapon; or a machine gun firearm attachment.”

Adults can be charged with a similar crime for transferring one of those listed weapons to a minor “in violation of applicable state or federal law.”

Lisonbee’s bill removes the specific list of applicable firearms. It instead lists any firearm that is federally regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934.

But, because federal agencies determine which specific firearms are regulated under that law, Lisonbee said the list of restricted firearms can change between different presidential administrations. Her bill would change the language of Utah’s law to state that an adult must “intentionally or knowingly” give a handgun or an “NFA firearm” to a minor to be guilty of a crime, which she said is meant to give leeway to parents and adults who may not be aware of the latest interpretation of the National Firearms Act.

“The idea was just to make sure that when we are criminalizing people under state code for NFA firearm-related stuff that they intentionally or knowingly did it, or reasonably should have known, rather than having that lower standard of recklessness,” she said. “It’s just to make sure that when agencies change things up on us, that people who are really not doing anything illegal aren’t caught up in it.”

What’s next?

Because her proposal makes a series of technical and policy changes, Lisonbee said she presented it to a committee during the September interim session to give colleagues a chance to review it ahead of the general legislative session, which begins Jan. 21. The committee heard a presentation on the bill but didn’t take a vote on it, meaning the public will still get a chance to weigh in on the proposal and it still needs to clear a committee vote before advancing to the House floor.