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Utah has the edge on firearm permits
By Geoffrey Fattah
Deseret Morning News
Utah has something that people from all over the country and Canada are clamoring for. Is it ski resort passes? Salt water taffy?
No, it's Utah's concealed firearm permits.
According to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which manages the permits that allow a person to legally carry a concealed firearm, the number of permit applications has nearly doubled in the past two years.
Statistics show in 2004 there were 8,147 permit applications. This year, BCI officials estimate the applications could go beyond 16,000, straining the resources of a program that hasn't seen a budget increase since it was implemented more than a decade ago.
The issue of staffing and funding is among a slate of topics scheduled for discussion Wednesday by legislative members of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee.
Authorities say the demand for Utah's concealed firearm permits is such that nearly 58 percent of the applicants are people from out of state.
"We know it's becoming very popular," said BCI chief Ed McConkie, who says Utah's concealed firearm permits are fast becoming the national standard. In Utah, a person must be 21 or older, must submit to fingerprinting and be photographed, must undergo both state and federal criminal background checks, must have hands-on gun time, and must be taught by a certified instructor. Some states do not have all those requirements.
It also doesn't hurt that Utah's permit is one of the cheapest to get in the country. The application fee is $54 and only requires $10 to renew every five years. McConkie said other states charge hundreds of dollars for a permit and require about $100 more to renew between two to three years after.
Utah's license is also recognized by an estimated 30 other states, said Clark Aposhian, a firearms instructor of 11 years and chairman of the Utah CCW (concealed weapons permit) Review Board. "Permits are not automatically recognized by other states like drivers' licenses," Aposhian said. "Utah's is the best in the nation right now."
Word has spread on firearm enthusiast Web sites and through the National Rifle Association that Utah, along with Florida, has the best deal in the nation. McConkie said the news has also attracted Canadians seeking a permit that will be valid in several U.S. states when they visit for hunting trips.
According to BCI data, the top out-of-state permit seekers come from California, Nevada, Missouri, Arizona and Colorado. A handful of applicants also hail from as far as Colombia, Falkland Islands, Germany and United Arab Emirates.
But popularity comes with a price. "This costs us a substantial amount of money to do background checks and to do fingerprint cards," McConkie said.
When the state began the concealed carry program in 1994, the Utah Legislature budgeted $88,000 each year to keep it running. Over the past 12 years the costs to process the swelling number of applications has grown an estimated $832,402, yet by law the estimated $648,720 in fees goes directly into the state's general fund and BCI still receives $88,000.
The lack of funds has resulted in a lack of personnel needed to process the applications, which has created more problems. Background checks for concealed permits are one of the few that are mandated by law to be completed within 60 days.
"We're not able to pay for it right now, and we're running a backlog," McConkie said. Because of the legislative mandate, BCI staff has had to set aside other background checks, including those for newly hired teachers, to get the job done. "We just don't have the resources."
Aposhian said the situation has caught the attention of gun-rights advocates. "It's improper in my opinion as a gun advocate to have conceal carry permit money go into the general fund," he said.
Legislative committee member Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield, said the permit's popularity should be a point of pride for Utah. "The reason why it's so highly valued is that it's accepted more than any other permit in the country," Oda said.
"Utah is not footing the bill for these permits," Aposhian said, but rather the state is pocketing the money into the general fund without covering BCI's costs to run the program.
Exactly how lawmakers will resolve the issue is unknown. McConkie said there has been talk about raising the fee to shoo away out-of-state applicants or creating separate systems for in-state and out-of-state applicants.
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E-mail: [email protected]
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I don't know how long it takes BCI to process a permit these days but it sure would be nice if the funding situation were resolved. I did note that there are no comments from the anti crowd in the article.
By Geoffrey Fattah
Deseret Morning News
Utah has something that people from all over the country and Canada are clamoring for. Is it ski resort passes? Salt water taffy?
No, it's Utah's concealed firearm permits.
According to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which manages the permits that allow a person to legally carry a concealed firearm, the number of permit applications has nearly doubled in the past two years.
Statistics show in 2004 there were 8,147 permit applications. This year, BCI officials estimate the applications could go beyond 16,000, straining the resources of a program that hasn't seen a budget increase since it was implemented more than a decade ago.
The issue of staffing and funding is among a slate of topics scheduled for discussion Wednesday by legislative members of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee.
Authorities say the demand for Utah's concealed firearm permits is such that nearly 58 percent of the applicants are people from out of state.
"We know it's becoming very popular," said BCI chief Ed McConkie, who says Utah's concealed firearm permits are fast becoming the national standard. In Utah, a person must be 21 or older, must submit to fingerprinting and be photographed, must undergo both state and federal criminal background checks, must have hands-on gun time, and must be taught by a certified instructor. Some states do not have all those requirements.
It also doesn't hurt that Utah's permit is one of the cheapest to get in the country. The application fee is $54 and only requires $10 to renew every five years. McConkie said other states charge hundreds of dollars for a permit and require about $100 more to renew between two to three years after.
Utah's license is also recognized by an estimated 30 other states, said Clark Aposhian, a firearms instructor of 11 years and chairman of the Utah CCW (concealed weapons permit) Review Board. "Permits are not automatically recognized by other states like drivers' licenses," Aposhian said. "Utah's is the best in the nation right now."
Word has spread on firearm enthusiast Web sites and through the National Rifle Association that Utah, along with Florida, has the best deal in the nation. McConkie said the news has also attracted Canadians seeking a permit that will be valid in several U.S. states when they visit for hunting trips.
According to BCI data, the top out-of-state permit seekers come from California, Nevada, Missouri, Arizona and Colorado. A handful of applicants also hail from as far as Colombia, Falkland Islands, Germany and United Arab Emirates.
But popularity comes with a price. "This costs us a substantial amount of money to do background checks and to do fingerprint cards," McConkie said.
When the state began the concealed carry program in 1994, the Utah Legislature budgeted $88,000 each year to keep it running. Over the past 12 years the costs to process the swelling number of applications has grown an estimated $832,402, yet by law the estimated $648,720 in fees goes directly into the state's general fund and BCI still receives $88,000.
The lack of funds has resulted in a lack of personnel needed to process the applications, which has created more problems. Background checks for concealed permits are one of the few that are mandated by law to be completed within 60 days.
"We're not able to pay for it right now, and we're running a backlog," McConkie said. Because of the legislative mandate, BCI staff has had to set aside other background checks, including those for newly hired teachers, to get the job done. "We just don't have the resources."
Aposhian said the situation has caught the attention of gun-rights advocates. "It's improper in my opinion as a gun advocate to have conceal carry permit money go into the general fund," he said.
Legislative committee member Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield, said the permit's popularity should be a point of pride for Utah. "The reason why it's so highly valued is that it's accepted more than any other permit in the country," Oda said.
"Utah is not footing the bill for these permits," Aposhian said, but rather the state is pocketing the money into the general fund without covering BCI's costs to run the program.
Exactly how lawmakers will resolve the issue is unknown. McConkie said there has been talk about raising the fee to shoo away out-of-state applicants or creating separate systems for in-state and out-of-state applicants.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: [email protected]
***************************
I don't know how long it takes BCI to process a permit these days but it sure would be nice if the funding situation were resolved. I did note that there are no comments from the anti crowd in the article.
