Utah Legislature: Amended firearms bill passes House committee

SALT LAKE CITY — A House committee unanimously approved a bill Friday that will give gun owners clearer guidance when seeking to resolve confrontations.

After proposing a toned-down substitution Wednesday, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, proposed further amendments to HB78 Friday.

"This is very prudent," Sandstrom said. "It takes away the all-or-nothing approach."

Gun owners currently have to fully draw or use their weapon in order to be specifically protected by law, he said. Under the proposed bill, owners can verbally inform others that they are armed. Owners could also openly display a firearm and threaten to use force if they feel threatened.

Proponents emphasized that the bill does not change current law, but rather extends specific protections.

The Utah Statewide Association of Prosecutors welcomes the changes because they clarify current law, said Paul Boyden, the organization's director.

The original version of HB78 included language that would have codified a gun owner's right to openly carry a firearm. It also would have allowed a person, if threatened with bodily harm, to threaten "deadly force" and draw or exhibit a firearm.

Sandstrom said there were many misconceptions about his original proposal, prompting him to revise the bill.

Utah Shooting Sports Council representative Crystal Perry presented the bill with Sandstrom and assured lawmakers that, despite the revised language, the bill's intent remained.

For gun-control advocate Steven Gunn, a board member at the Gun Violence Prevention Center, the bill remained too unclear.

"Through the years, I think something has slipped through the cracks, and that thing is who can openly carry a gun," Gunn said. "I think right now, anyone who can legally posses a gun can carry one openly."

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