utbagpiper
Banned
The "policy" of being required to notify officers one is carrying a legal gun, or of officers assuming a gun is carried illegally, is supported in neither statute, rule, nor culture. At one time, our permit issuing authority had a rule that permit holders were required to notify officers if they were armed. Nothing criminal could be imposed for violation of the rule even when it existed. The issuing authority threatened to revoke permits if a permit holder violated the rule. I'm not aware of anyone actually losing a permit over the issue. That rule was overturned by the legislature some years back and no longer exists.
All that remains is the encouragement from the issuing authority with that warning about what an officer might assume if you don't inform.
Of course, an officer may assume a lot of things. He may think a lot things. None of that is of any concern to me. All I care about is how an officer behaves.
And the observable behavior of the vast majority of Utah officer, the vast majority of the time, is that well behaved citizens, legally armed, are not bothered.
Indeed, we have had permit-free car carry for several years now. So a person might well be legally armed in his car with a fully loaded and/or concealed handgun (long guns may be concealed, but not loaded in a car unless one has a permit to carry) and not even need a permit.
There are many reasons not to visit Utah. Police officers mistreating legally armed citizens is certainly not on that list for any rational, informed gun owners.
In Utah, the default is that a legally possessed firearm is legal to carry into private homes and houses of worship. If the home owner / renter, or religious organization does not want privately owned guns carried into the residence or house of worship, then the resident or church is required to proactively provide notice in one of several prescribed ways.
If notice is provided, and ignored, then the person who is otherwise legally carrying a gun commits an infraction. In Utah law, this is a crime below a misdemeanor and for which no jail time can be imposed; only a monetary penalty can be imposed.
Homeowners and religious organizations can give notice in one of several ways including signage and personal communication. In addition, religious organizations may provide notice the church bulletin or via an annual public notice in a newspaper of general circulation coupled with providing notice to our permit issuing authority that then maintains a list of churches using that method on a publicly accessible website.
At any given time, there are 2 or 3 churches giving notice via the government webpage (after having run a public notice in the newspaper), and a couple more that post signage on the buildings. There is no specific wording required and one church has a sign that reads, "All are welcome to join us, but your guns are not welcomed." In any church that hasn't given notice, a private citizen may legally possess a firearm on the same terms as he would at any other general location. I can imagine there are at least some churches that might require discrete possession rather than OCing, though I have heard of one church in rural Utah whose pastor openly welcomes OC. Bottom line, State law leaves the decision to churches with the default being that guns are legal until notice is given.
In contrast to a man's home and his holy ground which receive legal backing for any no gun policy, commercial property in Utah enjoys no such legal protection for anti-RKBA policies. A violation is, at most, a civil matter unless one creates a disturbance or disrupts business in which case commercial trespassing may come into effect. But no crime specific to the legal possession of guns itself.
Anti-religious bigots, of course, are butt sore that churches and private residences receive greater legal deference than does commercial business property. Of course, sensible men here will recognize that just as the 2nd amendment provides greater specific protections for possession of firearms and other defensive weapons than may be required for any number of other items, the 1st amendment does, in fact, provide a vaunted position for religion, churches, and religious beliefs in our Republic.
I do not violate gun laws. I do not carry where illegal.
Where legal, I generally carry, with the exception of my place of employment where my employer is within his current legal powers to terminate employees for violating the corporate "no gun" policy. State parking lot preemption, protects my right to keep a gun in my car in the parking lot so that I am not disarmed during my lunch hour errands or my commute.
Charles
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