SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Utah gun owners would be able to carry concealed weapons without a permit under a bill that passed the state Senate on Friday, leaving one procedural vote before it heads to the desk of a supportive Republican governor.
Several other states this year are considering similar measures, which are backed by gun-rights groups like the National Rifle Association. Tennessee’s governor has also supported the idea.
Utah now requires people to take a weapons course and undergo a background check and get a permit to legally carry a gun in public hidden under a jacket or inside a purse. Gun-control groups say those are steps that are supported by many gun owners and keep people safer.
But opponents say the permit system is ineffective on ensuring safety and having to get a permit undermines citizens’ rights to defend themselves if needed.
“Criminals have guns, and they’re going to conceal and do with them what they do,” GOP Sen. David Hinkins said. “All this does is (for) law-abiding citizens, this allows a woman to put it in her purse or a man to put it in his jacket.”