SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A bill targeting a new Salt Lake County rule to require gun show vendors in county facilities to run background checks on customers passed the Utah House of Representatives.
The bill that passed Friday without debate aims to clarify state control over gun laws in Utah, The Deseret News reported.
The bill would prevent cities or counties from being able to work around the state’s gun legislation.
The bill passed after lawmakers approved an amendment clarifying guns can be banned in homeless shelters, as well as striking a clause allowing elected officials to be sued for voting to regulate firearms.
The bill is sponsored by Republican Rep. Cory Maloy, an outspoken Second Amendment supporter, and faces opposition from Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Democrats who argue local governments should be able to pass regulations.
Wilson’s “operational change” to close the gun show background check loophole in Salt Lake County by requiring it in contracts with vendors is not necessarily a regulation, she said.
The change is an exercise of the county’s administrative ability to set requirements with vendors who lease county-owned facilities, Wilson said.
The bill will proceed to the state Senate for consideration.
