Today, the Utah House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on two anti-gun bills, House Bill 115 and House Bill 136. The hearing will take place in Room 20 of the House Building at 4:00 PM. If you are able, please attend the hearing and urge members of the committee to OPPOSE House Bill 115 and House Bill 136. If you are not able to attend, please contact members of the committee and urge them to OPPOSE House Bill 115 and House Bill 136.
House Bill 115 defines “firearm custodian” and makes them liable for the illegal actions of others. This measure could make law-abiding gun owners liable if their firearms were stolen and then used in a crime, shifting the responsibility from criminals to law-abiding individuals.
House Bill 136 creates a blanket requirement that all firearms be locked and stored in a manner where an unauthorized or prohibited person would be unable to access them. Gun safety and storage is a matter of personal responsibility and every person’s situation is different. It is unreasonable for the law to impose a one-size-fits-all solution. In short, this measure invades people’s homes and forces them to render their firearms useless for self-defense or become criminals.
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Also today, the Utah House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee will hold a hearing on both a pro-gun bill and anti-gun bill. The hearing will take place in Room 450 of the Capitol Building at 4:00 PM. If you are able, please attend this hearing and urge members of the committee to OPPOSE House Bill 109 and SUPPORT House Bill 271. If you are unable to attend, please contact members of the committee and urge them to OPPOSE House Bill 109 and to SUPPORT House Bill 271.
House Bill 109 bans most firearm sales and transfers between private individuals without first paying fees and obtaining government permission. Firearm sales between friends or neighbors would not be exempted. This proposal would have no impact on crime and is completely unenforceable.
House Bill 271 clarifies and strengthens Utah’s current preemption laws and provides a strong mechanism for enforcement of the law. Preemption legislation is designed to stop municipalities from creating a patchwork of different laws throughout the state that turn a law-abiding citizen into a criminal for simply crossing a jurisdictional line.
Please stay tuned to your inbox and the NRA-ILA website for more updates on Utah’s 2020 Legislative Session.