UtahJarhead said:
the second amendment says "The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." It does *NOT* say "unless you haven't paid the government their cut." or "as soon as you are trained properly enough."
It's an inalienable right. You don't need government permission to speak your mind, you shouldn't need their permission to exercise your right to self-defense in the manner most comfortable (open or concealed).
I'll add a few more ideas to this...
First, it is already legal to carry a gun in Utah without a permit. I carried for a long time before I got my permit. In public, you have to remain open and unloaded, but in a car, your home, hunting, etc. you can carry however you want. People that want to carry already can. This law just allows people to put on a jacket without breaking the law. Do we really need training to be allowed to wear a jacket over our gun?
Next, if you do not have a permit but wish to be loaded, you have to do an awful lot of handling of a loaded gun. A loaded modern firearm in a proper holster is completely safe. A loaded firearm in the hands becomes much more dangerous. Without a permit, if I am carrying loaded in my car, I have to park the car, unholster and handle a loaded firearm while I unload it and then reholster before I can get out to go into a store or pump gas. When I return, reverse the process. That is a lot of unnecessary handling of a loaded firearm. If the law allowed loaded carry outside of my car, the chances of an accident are reduced drastically. Also imagine what someone thinks when they walk past and see me handling a gun just before I get out to walk into a store. Seems to me that I need more training and practice than if I have a permit.
Look at the current Utah cfp class. It is 3-4 hours of pretty basic gun safety and some coverage of Utah laws regarding firearms and self defense. No live-fire. No proficiency test. Does this course seem like it will really change how those who you are concerned about will handle a firearm? It seems to me that most people who want to legally carry a firearm are going to look into how to avoid breaking the law and generally how to not shoot themselves or their friend in the foot. If they don't already have experience around firearms, I bet most would be 'scared' to carry. I really don't know that the 4 hour class is giving them much more than a law abiding person will do on their own.
How many people do you think are going to run out and buy a gun with no training or knowledge of the laws merely because a news story told of a new law saying that they don't have to have permission to cover or load the gun? The fact is, if people want to carry a gun, they are already doing it and they most likely have much more training or experience than provided by the CFP course.
How often do you see someone carrying a firearm openly in public? It is pretty rare, because most people don't know it is legal. Those who carry investigated and found that it was legal. They researched, learned the law, and now exercise the rights the law allows. Law-abiding citizens don't just strap on a gun and walk around town without an understanding of the laws. Why would that change just because the law is slightly different? There will always be a few out there who feel they are above everyone else, but if they don't have concern for the laws anyway, what's the difference?
When states began issuing concealed carry permits, the opposition predicted bloodbath with people shooting each other over every-day arguments. Accidental shootings would abound. In fact, the opposite happened. Crime rates dropped significantly in every state that issued permits while the crime rates in the rest of country continued to rise drastically. The number of accidental shooting deaths didn't increase. There is no reason or evidence to assume that removing the permission slip required to cover the gun will result in any increase in incidents. Frankly, I find it insulting the state feels that I can be trusted so little that the only thing stopping me from shooting someone over hurt feelings is the fact that I don't have their permission to carry a gun.
And let's not forget... Criminals don't follow laws.