Is open carry and or concealed carry allowed on UTA public transport, both buses and rail services? Are Provo Towne Centre and University malls friendly toward open carry. PLEASE share your knowledge and experiences here. I should be living in Provo by the end of next month from Chicago. Finally after many years of wanting to I will be in the American west!
WELCOME TO UTAH! From the Utah BCI's webpage...
Carrying in Vehicles
A person
may not carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle
unless they have a valid permit to carry or:
- They are at least 18 years old and
- Has lawful possession of the vehicle or consent of the person who has lawful possession of the vehicle and
- The weapon is not a rifle, shotgun or muzzle-loading rifle
It is lawful for a person
with a concealed firearms permit to carry a firearm into a bus terminal.
It is lawful for a person
with a concealed firearm permit to board a bus or a train or enter a terminal with a firearm upon their person or effects. This also applies to law enforcement officers or commercial security personnel with firearms used in their employment.
As you can see, a
concealed firearm permit is a legal necessity for carrying on the the types public transportation of which you inquired. However, it does not mandate that the handgun be concealed.
Although we
are an OC state, there are certain "benefits" (
ignoring the fact that you must have a
government permission slip in order to take advantage of your
rights). One of those benefits is, that with a CFP you don't get mired down in our somewhat convoluted definition of "unloaded", which is the only way a non-CFP handgun owner may OC. A CFP holder may also carry upon school property, where a non-CFP gun owner may not (be
very aware though, that we have several hundred school staff who hold CFP's, and it may be dangerously unwise to OC onto school property -
CFP or NO CFP).
As for businesses, a
very few have
"NO WEAPONS PERMITTED" (or some variant of that wording) signs. An "agent" of those stores that
DON'T display such signage, still has the authority to ask you to depart the premises, or to return your handgun to your vehicle. Should you
refuse, the agent may call the police and have you charged with trespassing. There are very few businesses in Utah that are openly anti-2A.
Utah State Constitution contains an
almost carbon copy of the U.S. Constitution's 2A, and includes a supremacy clause prohibiting all lesser political subdivisions (County, City, etc) from restricting our RKBA to any greater degree than the State Constitution.
A
CFP, and a
properly concealed handgun should minimize the possibility of any such hassles with Utah merchants, public transportation or law enforcement. The last I heard,
Cabela's has a corporate rep for being anti-gun, and has signage. Pax...
P.S. There is more info available at
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/FirearmLaws.html#Carrying and for specifics of Utah Firearms Law, refer to the Utah Statutes at
http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE53/htm/53_05a010200.htm
