I will be visiting Utah in the coming weeks. I have a Michigan CPL and usually CC and or OC when traveling. Any advise for me? Is OC well accepted in Utah? I am a bit confused by references to public streets in the gun laws I read from your state.
If you have a permit to carry issued anywhere in the nation, you are good to go in Utah. You are legal to OC or CC virtually anyplace you are likely to go, loaded, unloaded, as you see fit. The whole "public street" reference applies to those without permits.
OC is generally well accepted, a few businesses may ask you to leave...if they notice the gun. You may also get some grief if you OC on a college campus though most all here believe you are legal to OC as well as CC there.
While technically legal, I advise against OCing on Temple Square if you visit that favorite attraction.
Other than the usual federal locations that are off limits nationwide, you have very few off limit locations in Utah and virtually all of them are clearly marked:court houses, secure area of the airport, prisons/jails, secure mental hospitals are all off limits and should be well marked as such.
Houses of worship can also ban guns from their actual buildings if they give notice. Notice can come in one of any number of ways including via a posting on the Utah BCI website at
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/CFchurch.html
All LDS houses of worship (including the Tabernacle and Conference Center at or near Temple Square) are off limits to firearms. They are not noticable posted other than at the link above. Other churhes MAY be off limits but will give notice in some way (a sign, a verbal request, etc).
Private business can post signs banning guns if they like, but those signs carry no more legal weight in Utah than a sign requirig a "coat and tie" for dinner. Such signs are very rare.
You are legal to carry into restaurants, bars, etc and even to imbibe while carrying if you choose so long as you are not intoxicated. There is no requirment to notify, though most officers appreciate it and handle the situation professionally.
So far as Utah law goes, you can also legally carry into K-12 school zones and even the schools themselves. Federal law would seem to require you to have permit issued by Utah to do that.
Hotels can legally deny service if they know you have a gun. Most won't. You have no obligation to notify.
I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. It is my best understanding of current law in Utah.
Charles
