Utah House passes bill allowing 18-year-olds to openly carry loaded firearms
A Utah bill allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to openly carry loaded firearms in the state advanced through the House of Representatives Tuesday.
Sponsored by House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, HB133 makes several technical changes to the state's firearms code, while also lowering the age for openly carrying loaded weapons and preventing landlords from prohibiting tenants from possessing firearms in their residences.
As a "constitutional carry" state, residents can conceal carry firearms without a permit, and adults over the age of 21 can legally openly carry loaded firearms in most public places. Lisonbee told KSL.com last year that the distinction between 18-year-olds and 21-year-olds when it comes to open carry law likely runs afoul of anti-age-discrimination law, citing a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"Utahns should know their rights," she told colleagues on the House floor Tuesday. "This bill clarifies their rights and allows every Utahn to be able to read the code and understand what they can and cannot do."
HB133 passed the House on party lines, though only a couple of Democrats spoke against it. Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek, said he supports Second Amendment protections for the right to bear arms, but expressed concerns about allowing younger Utahns to carry loaded weapons in public.
He said young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 are more likely to commit firearm homicide, arguing the policy change could be dangerous. Adults between those ages are three times more likely to commit gun homicides compared to adults over the age of 21, according to the gun control advocacy group, Everytown for Gun Safety.
"I think that we could still support the Second Amendment by leaving that provision in our law intact and allowing that open carry by 21-year-olds," Owens said. "I think that life would be a little calmer ... we otherwise could bypass incidents of violence."
Lisonbee countered, saying: "A vote against this bill is not a vote to prevent 18- to 21-year-olds from carrying in Utah. They have been able to carry in their vehicles for over a decade, and they can carry in their domiciles under current code."
Her bill would expand the places where younger adults can carry loaded weapons, however.
"Guns don't commit violence, people commit violence," Lisonbee added.
The bill now advances to the Senate for further consideration.
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