April 30 (UPI) — Utah residents over the age of 21 won’t have to get a permit to legally carry a concealed firearm due to a newly passed state law — but that law won’t apply at Hill Air Force Base, the Air Force announced this week.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed House Bill 60 into law in February and the law takes effect May 5.
The bill puts Utah in the company of 19 other states that do not require a permit for concealed carry. The Texas Legislature is contemplating a similar bill, and this week Gov. Greg Abbott said he will sign it if it passes.
But Nate Huven, chief of plans and programs for the Air Force’s 75th Security Forces Squadron, said when the law takes effect it won’t have any effect on policies and procedures at Hill AFB.
“This new change of state law will not change anything on base, because Hill Air Force Base is federal property,” Huven said in a press release issued by the base this week. “Subsequently, there will not be a change with our gate-to-domicile concealed carry policy.”
That means Hill AFB residents who wish to carry concealed firearms will still need to apply for and be issued a state concealed carry permit.
Utah will still issue concealed firearms permits after the law takes effect, and has reciprocity agreements with 36 other states that recognize Utah’s permit in their state, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety.
According to Hill AFB, that program will still require applicants to undergo a criminal background check and to attend a training course with a suicide prevention video.
The release also said firearms are not permitted on school grounds, in airport secured areas, federal facilities, courts, correctional and mental health facilities, in law enforcement secured areas, churches and “private residence where notice is given or posted.”
