Jeff Johnson said:
Don't get yourself arrested and prosecuted by misunderstanding the law.
You cannot carry in a car in that fashion without a CFP (Concealed Firearm Permit).
That's an interesting opinion, but I should explain why this was on my mind -
My brother-in-law is an attorney, an ex-county procecuting attorney, and a member of the State Legislature. (I'll not use his name, since I have not asked for his permission) Over Christmas I had a chat with him about the failure of the car-carry law to reach the floor (it was killed in commitee) and his viewpoint was pretty interesting.
-WARNING- This is mostly my memory of his opinion of what the commitee thought!
My brother-in-law stated that it was his knowlege, and the knowlege of members of the commitee, that while you could not carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle (per state code), a gun that took at least two motions to fire was not concidered loaded, and so could be carried in a readliy accessable fashion in the vehicle. He called it the "two click rule". (I had never heard that term before) In his opinion, members of the commitee therefore felt that the car-carry law was unecessary, since:
1. Some level of car carry was already provided for in the "two click rule"
2. If you needed access to a loaded weapon in the car, the concealed carry permit was easy and inexpensive to obtain in Utah, so you should just go out and get one! If your safety depended on access to a loaded weapon in the car, didn't it also depend on access to a loaded weapon two feet from the car?
I also wonder if this isn't the reasoning behind the police coming out against this law. After all, given the assumptions above, wouldn't this bill only benefit those who cannot obtain a concealed weapons permit?
Let me say that I don't tell you this to prove my point. I have my permit, and so it makes no personal difference to me. I've thought for some time that this viewpoint should be presented here so that if this bill does come up before the committee again, we can use this information to present a well-reasoned, logical case for allowing it to come to a vote.
Thanks!