THANKS to all of you who wrote to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) to protest the proposed rules changes. The good news is that these changes have now been withdrawn, and will NOT go into effect next month!

The rules changes included the following:

1. All concealed carry instructors will be required to be Utah residents. Utah Gun Owners Alliance opposes this rule. It would effectively disarm many Utahns who are living out of state due to school, military, and job obligations. It would also disarm most tourists to our state.

2. All concealed carry instructors will be required to re-certify every two years. Each instructor will have to submit a notarized application form, a copy of photo ID, a copy of a current course of instruction, and $5. Every two years seems excessive, since permits and drivers licenses are good for 5 years. This would also open the door to mandatory government retraining, as we saw during the last legislative session.

3. The proposed rules prohibit an instructor from wearing badges or identification cards, or making any statements that would imply that s/he "is connected in any way with the federal government or any state or local governmental entity". While UTGOA agrees with BCI that instructors should not misrepresent themselves or their qualifications, we believe this rule needs clarification, as it would adversely affect law enforcement officers and others who legitimately teach concealed carry classes.

4. The proposed rules clarify the definition of "violent crime". UTGOA has no objection to this clarification, provided that the  legislature remains solely responsible for defining crimes and prohibited persons.

5. The proposed rules clarify that the permit renewal period is five years, includes the fees set by the legislature, and allows payment options other than cash, money order, or cashier's check. UTGOA supports these clarifications, and appreciates BCI's efforts 
to make permit renewal easier and more convenient for CCW permittees. Concealed carry makes Utah a safer place, and anything that encourages lawful carry benefits everyone - except criminals!

UTGOA was especially concerned that our concealed carry instructor laws were being changed, not by the legislature, but by unelected administrators. We believe that all legislation should be enacted by our elected representatives who are accountable to us.

BCI received letters and emails from all over the country protesting these rules! (Thanks to the good folks at Sierra Times and KeepAndBearArms.com for their assistance in spreading the word!)

UTGOA spoke with Sgt. Ron Stallworth today to follow up on the proposed rules changes. According to Sgt. Stallworth, the proposed rules changes have been withdrawn, and there is no plan to pursue them further this year.

Sgt. Stallworth attributes the change to administrative changes at the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and BCI. (BCI is a division of DPS.) Commissioner of Public Safety, Craig L. Dearden, has retired and will be replaced next month by St. George police chief Robert L. Flowers. Sgt. Stallworth has just taken on the job of supervisor in the firearms section, which deals with concealed carry permits and instructors.

UTGOA believes your letters and emails helped to convince BCI that the above rules deserve further study, and that any changes should be discussed first with gun rights organizations.

Sgt. Stallworth expressed his intention to work with Utah's gun owners, concealed carry permittees, and CCW instructors in a friendly and cooperative manner. He does not believe (nor does UTGOA!) that BCI and gun owners should be "enemies".
Utah Gun Owners Alliance and Sgt. Stallworth plan to meet in January to discuss how we can work together more productively.

Thanks to all of you who wrote to BCI, and thanks also to the folks at BCI for recognizing that the proposed rules should not be implemented by a new administration without further review and input from gun owners.

For more information about BCI, see http://www.bci.state.ut.us/default.html. The site has a lot of excellent information as well as applications for permits that you can download and print.

Utah Gun Owners Alliance is grateful for your support during the past year and wishes all of you, and your loved ones, very Happy Holidays!

PLEASE SUPPORT UTAH GUN OWNERS ALLIANCE! http://www.utgoa.org/pages/join.html JOIN US TODAY! To subscribe to the UTGOA list, send a blank email to utgoa-subscribe at egroups.com or use the form on our web site, http://www.utgoa.org. For more information, see http://www.egroups.com/group/UTGOA. 

UTGOA is written and distributed by, Utah Gun Owners Alliance, http://www.utgoa.org, and Sarah Thompson, M.D. All information contained in these alerts is the responsibility of the author, unless otherwise attributed.