House restores prior firearm-code language to avoid unintended exclusions for lawful workers

The Utah House passed HB1002 on May 17 to correct unintended effects in recent firearm-code changes. Representative Ryan D. Wilcox said the 2023 change (House Bill 225) included a provision aimed at closing a loophole for certain restricted persons, but it also swept in some lawful nonimmigrant work-visa holders who had relied on a 'hunter' provision for self-protection.

"What we're doing today is simply pulling back those few lines in the code to make sure that we're going back to what the law was in that particular section prior to 05/03/2023," Wilcox said. He told members the Legislature will use the interim to better define who should be covered and who should not. There was no floor discussion following the sponsor's explanation and the bill passed the House 70-0.

The bill as passed restores prior statutory language and directs staff and sponsors to work during the interim to craft clarifying language to prevent the original loophole while avoiding unintended exclusions for lawful workers.