imported post
mahkagari wrote:
My wife will be passing through UT in a few weeks. She's considering carrying while she's traveling. Her only planned stop will be a motel before carrying on. Can someone brief me for OC, including vehicle?
If she has a CCW from any state, Utah honors it, so she's allowed to conceal at will. Utah also exempts her from the Utah gun-free school zone act (though the federal one still applies, probably).
If she has no permit, Utah recently passed new legislation that allows anyone to carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle, concealed or not. Utah's gun-free school zone act also exempts guns in cars.
Outside of the car, open carry is perfectly legal, but the gun must be "unloaded" while on any public street. The definition of "unloaded" in Utah law is a little bit unusual: No round in firing position, and at least two mechanical actions from firing. For an autoloader that means no round in the chamber (the two actions are rack the slide and pull the trigger). For a revolver it's more complicated, but if she has no round in the chamber under the hammer and no round in the next chamber (the one that will rotate in when the double-action trigger is pulled or the single-action hammer is cocked), then it's legal.
Outside of the vehicle and without a permit, both the state and federal gun-free zone laws apply, so she shouldn't knowingly go within 1000 feet of a school (day care through university).
The only off-limits areas for carry are federal facilities (per federal law), national parks (per federal law), specific secure facilities in courthouses, mental hospitals, etc. (per state law, must be posted and provide firearm storage lockers), school zones (without a permit), and churches and private residences who have chosen to ban firearms. Other private property owners have no authority to ban firearms, so "no guns" signs have no force, though of course they can ask you to leave.
The state has 100% pre-emption on all firearms laws. The only thing municipalities are allowed to restrict is discharge, so you don't have to worry about varying rules as you pass through the state.
There are no state restrictions on magazine capacity or any of that foolishness. If the gun itself is legal in any state it's legal in Utah.
I think that covers it!