How The Gun Laws In Utah Compare To Other States

By Grant Suneson, 24/7 Wall St. Salt Lake City

2021-06-07

As the only country in the world whose constitution enshrines the right to keep and bear arms without restrictions, it’s no surprise the United States is absolutely saturated with guns.
The country is a global outlier in private firearm ownership. The U.S. has about 4% of the world’s population but its people possess almost 40% of the world’s civilian-owned guns — nearly 121 for every 100 residents, according to a 2018 report by the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey.
The strict partisan divide over the issue means that many states have very loose gun-ownership rules. And those with stronger restrictions in place can do little to stem the flow of firearms from less-regulated states. One bill currently before the House Judiciary committee, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, would even force states with stricter gun laws to accept concealed carry permits issued in states with less stringent laws.

In 2020, the gun control laws in Utah ranked as the 23rd weakest in the country, as the laws received a D grade from the Giffords Law Center. Utah had 12.8 gun deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020, the 25th highest rate among all states.

Utah allows most people to openly carry loaded firearms in many public places with no permit or license, and has no rules regarding assault weapons. In April, the state stopped requiring permits for concealed, loaded handguns in most cases.

To determine the states with the best and worst gun laws, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2020 Annual Gun Law Scorecard from the Giffords Law Center, which ranks states on the strength of gun laws and policy and assigns a letter grade.

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This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.