Utah and Montana Permitless Carry **“ Quirks in Laws

[Gary Slider]

Utah – The Governor has signed HB 60 which will make Utah a Permitless Carry state on or about May 5, 2021. Utah bills without an effective date take effect 60 days after the Legislature adjourns. May 5 would be 60 days from that date the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn but they could adjourn earlier or later than that date. HB0060

Montana – The Governor has signed HB 102 which makes Montana a Permitless carry state. They already had Permitless carry outside cities and towns which was over 94% of the state but this change makes them a total Permitless Carry State. The law goes into effect when signed by the Governor but the section that allows for Campus carry doesn’t go into effect until June 1, 2021 and there is a catch in that law. You have to have the training that a person applying for a permit in Montana must have to carry on a University Campus WITHOUT a PERMIT!! The second link below is the state statute stating what training is required to obtain a permit in Montana. Looks to Handgunlaw.us if you are going to carry on campus you would have to carry your training certificate or a permit from a state Montana honors and Montana didn’t change their reciprocity statute and doesn’t honor all other states. The 3rd Link is a link to the Montana Page at Handgunlaw.us and lists in the first section the states Montana Honors. The 4th Link is a link to the Montana DOJ and who they say they honor.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billhtml/HB0102.htm

45-8-321. Permit to carry concealed weapon, MCA

https://handgunlaw.us/states/montana.pdf

https://dojmt.gov/enforcement/concealed-weapons/

https://www.Handgunlaw.us will be updated later this evening or early tomorrow with the changes in these two states.

Just Saying - What Montana did was fantastic not only with Permitless Carry but removing many places their statutes stated were off limits. Just last month they put teeth in their preemption laws. They also did what other states are doing and making little traps in their laws. Having to have the training needed to obtain a permit in Montana before carrying on a college campus without a permit is a great example of that. Other states have ands, ifs or buts in their laws that set little traps for those who don’t READ the laws. Massad Ayoob told me over 25 years ago and I quote: “Know the law better than those you are dealing with!” That is what got me started cataloging the carry laws all those years ago and sharing them. Read and read a lot if you wish to stay out of trouble. Get as much training as you can afford. Not just the shooting part but how to avoid trouble. What to do before, during and after a confrontation. You not only have to protect yourself from the evil in this world but also to protect yourself in the legal system of the Local, State and Federal Courts. It is better to be prepared beforehand than to play catch up after the fact.