H.B. 85

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LIMITATIONS ON PURCHASE OR
2 POSSESSION OF A FIREARM
3 1997 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Susan J. Koehn
6 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL CODE; PRECLUDING A PERSON CONVICTED OF
7 CERTAIN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIMES FROM PURCHASING, POSSESSING, OR
8 TRANSFERRING A FIREARM, AMMUNITION, OR HANDGUN; PROVIDING A
9 DEFINITION AND PENALTY; PRESCRIBING A PENALTY FOR A PERSON WHO
10 PROVIDES A FIREARM OR AMMUNITION TO SOMEONE THE PERSON KNOWS OR
11 REASONABLY BELIEVES HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF
12 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; EXCLUDING CERTAIN PERSONS; AND MAKING
13 CONFORMING CORRECTIONS.
14 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
15 AMENDS:
16 76-10-503, as last amended by Chapters 19 and 149, Laws of Utah 1994
17 76-10-523, as last amended by Chapter 80, Laws of Utah 1995
18 76-10-527, as enacted by Chapter 19, Laws of Utah 1994
19 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
20 Section 1. Section 76-10-503 is amended to read:
21 76-10-503. Purchase or possession of dangerous weapon, firearm, or handgun --
22 Persons not permitted to have -- Penalties.
23 (1) (a) Any person who has been convicted of any crime of violence under the laws of the
24 United States, this state, or any other state, government, or country, or who is addicted to the use
25 of any narcotic drug, or who has been declared mentally incompetent may not own or have in his
26 possession or under his custody or control any dangerous weapon as defined in this part.
27 (b) Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a class A misdemeanor, and if the

1 dangerous weapon is a firearm or sawed-off shotgun, he is guilty of a third degree felony.
2 (2) (a) Any person who is on parole or probation for a felony may not have in his
3 possession or under his custody or control any dangerous weapon as defined in this part.
4 (b) Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a third degree felony, but if the
5 dangerous weapon is a firearm, explosive, or incendiary device he is guilty of a second degree
6 felony.
7 (3) (a) Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
8 may not ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition unless the conviction has been
9 expunged, set aside, or pardoned.
10 (b) "Misdemeanor crime of domestic violence":
11 (i) means an offense that:
12 (A) is a misdemeanor under federal or state law; and
13 (B) has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of
14 a deadly weapon committed by:
15 (I) a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim;
16 (II) a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; or
17 (III) a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent,
18 or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim;
19 (ii) includes all misdemeanors that involve the use or attempted use of physical force
20 regardless of whether the state statute or local ordinance specifically defines the offense as a
21 domestic violence misdemeanor.
22 (c) A person may not be considered to have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of
23 violence for purposes of this section:
24 (i) (A) unless the person was represented by counsel in the case, or knowingly and
25 intelligently waived the right to counsel in the case; and
26 (B) in the case of a prosecution for an offense in Subsection (1) for which a person was
27 entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, either the case was tried by
28 a jury or the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to have the case tried by a jury,
29 by guilty plea or otherwise; or
30 (ii) if the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person
31 has been pardoned, unless the pardon or expungement expressly provides that the person may not

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1 ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.
2 (d) Any person who violates Subsection (3) is guilty of a third degree felony.
3 [(3)] (4) (a) A person may not purchase, possess, or transfer any handgun described in this
4 part who:
5 (i) has been convicted of any felony offense under the laws of the United States, this state,
6 or any other state;
7 (ii) is under indictment;
8 (iii) is an unlawful user of a controlled substance as defined in Section 58-37-2;
9 (iv) is a drug dependent person as defined in Section 58-37-2;
10 (v) has been adjudicated as mentally defective, as provided in the Brady Handgun
11 Violence Prevention Act, Pub. L. No. 103-159, 107 Stat. 1536 (1993), or has been committed to
12 a mental institution;
13 (vi) is an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
14 (vii) has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; [or]
15 (viii) is a person who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced such
16 citizenship[.]; or
17 (ix) has been convicted of any domestic violence offense under the laws of the United
18 States, this state, or any other state.
19 (b) Any person who violates Subsection [(3)] (4) is guilty of a third degree felony.
20 Section 2. Section 76-10-523 is amended to read:
21 76-10-523. Persons exempt from certain weapons laws.
22 (1) [This] (a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), this part and Title 53, Chapter 5, Part
23 7, Concealed Weapon Act, do not apply to any of the following:
24 [(a)] (i) a United States marshal while engaged in the performance of his official duties;
25 [(b)] (ii) a federal official required to carry a firearm while engaged in the performance of
26 his official duties;
27 [(c)] (iii) a law enforcement official of this or any other jurisdiction while engaged in the
28 performance of his official duties;
29 [(d)] (iv) a common carrier while engaged in the regular and ordinary transport of firearms
30 as merchandise;
31 [(e)] (v) a nonresident traveling in or through the state, provided that any firearm is:

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1 [(i)] (A) unloaded; and
2 [(ii)] (B) securely encased as defined in Section 76-10-501.
3 (b) A person listed in Subsection (1) is prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm
4 if the person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as provided in
5 Section 76-10-503.
6 (2) The provisions of Subsections 76-10-504(1)(a), (1)(b), and Section 76-10-505 do not
7 apply to any person to whom a permit to carry a concealed firearm has been issued pursuant to
8 Section 53-5-704.
9 Section 3. Section 76-10-527 is amended to read:
10 76-10-527. Penalties.
11 (1) A dealer is guilty of a class A misdemeanor who willfully and intentionally:
12 (a) requests, obtains, or seeks to obtain criminal history background information under
13 false pretenses; or
14 (b) disseminates criminal history background information.
15 (2) A person who purchases or transfers a handgun is guilty of a felony of the third degree
16 who willfully and intentionally makes a false statement of the information required in Subsection
17 76-10-526(3).
18 (3) A dealer is guilty of a felony of the third degree if the dealer willfully and intentionally
19 sells or transfers a handgun in violation of this part.
20 (4) A person is guilty of a felony of the third degree who purchases a handgun with the
21 intent to:
22 (a) resell or otherwise provide a handgun to any person who is ineligible to purchase or
23 receive from a dealer a handgun; or
24 (b) transport a handgun out of this state to be resold to an ineligible person.
25 (5) A person is guilty of a third degree felony who sells or otherwise disposes of a firearm
26 or ammunition to anyone the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe has been convicted
27 of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined in Section 76-10-503.

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Legislative Review Note
as of 1-6-97 2:18 PM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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