SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah lawmaker is proposing a measure that would hold gun owners liable if they lend out a firearm that’s used in a crime.
Democratic state Rep.-elect Andrew Stoddard is calling the measure “Lauren’s Law,” named after the 21-year-old University of Utah student who was shot to death in October by a man she briefly dated.
Authorities say 37-year-old Melvin Rowland had borrowed a gun from a friend before killing Lauren McCluskey, a track athlete and a senior communications major. Rowland killed himself as police closed in.
Stoddard’s measure aims to codify a liability to make it easier for people to pursue civil damages.
Under state law, it’s illegal for gun owners to knowingly loan weapons to people who cannot legally possess a gun or intend to commit a crime.
