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Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Gun owners from all over get permits in Utah, which has waived residency and other requirements

A growing number of gun owners across the country looking for the most bang for their buck are hoping to be permitted to carry a weapon in Utah despite never visiting the state. "With the Supreme Court ruling last week that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual’s right to bear arms applies to state and local laws, Utah is a popular player in Americans’ efforts to legally obtain firearms," Dan Frosch reports for The New York Times. Thirty-two other states recognize or have formal reciprocity agreements with Utah's gun regulations.

"Fifteen years after the Utah Legislature loosened rules on concealed firearm permits by waiving residency and other requirements, the state is increasingly attracting firearm owners from throughout the country," Frosch writes. The Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which issues gun permits, reports just under half of the 241,811 permits granted by the state are now held by non-residents. In 2004, Utah received 8,000 applications for permits, but by last year the number was up to 73,925, with almost 60 percent coming from non-residents.

"By passing the class and the background check, and paying a $65.25 fee, the applicant receives what many consider to be the most prized gun permit in the country," Frosch writes. "Permits are good for five years and cost $10 to renew." Of the 1,097 course instructors certified by Utah, 706 are in other states. Still some question the safety of the practice as Utah does not require permitees to ever fire a weapon to receive certification. "I think it’s absolutely shameful and ludicrously irresponsible to say that anybody anywhere who wants one of our concealed-carry permits, and thus will be able to carry legally in dozens of states, can just log on to our Web site and pay 60 bucks and that’s all she wrote," Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told Frosch. (Read more)

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