State Gun Laws

Utah state law says that a person cannot have a firearm or other dangerous weapon if s/he:

1. has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit assault or aggravated assault against:
   
   • someone s/he was involved with in a dating relationship within the last five years, unless:
     • it has been five years or more since:
       • the conviction was entered;
       • s/he was released from jail after the conviction; or
       • his/her probation for the conviction ended; and
     • the conviction is for one single instance of misdemeanor assault;
   • a current or former spouse, parent, guardian, or someone with whom s/he has a child in common;
   • someone s/he is or was living with (“cohabitating”) as if the person were a spouse, parent, or guardian; 
   • someone who is “similarly situated” to a spouse, parent, or guardian; or
2. has a final protective order or a child protective order against him/her that was issued after a hearing, and the order:
   
   • includes a term that prohibits harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner or a child of the intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury; and
   • either:
     • includes a finding that the respondent/defendant represents a “credible threat” to the physical safety of an intimate partner or a child of the intimate partner; or
     • specifically prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily harm against an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner;
3. has been convicted of:
   
   • a violent felony;
   • a domestic violence offense that is a felony; or
   • multiple felonies that are not part of a single criminal episode;
4. has completed a sentence for any of the following within the last seven years:
   
   • a conviction for a felony that is not a domestic violence offense or a violent felony; or
   • convictions for multiple felonies that are part of a single criminal episode and are not domestic violence offenses or violent felonies; 
5. is on probation or parole for a felony;
6. is on parole from a juvenile secure care facility;
7. within the last ten years has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense, which if committed by an adult would have been a violent felony;
8. is illegally or unlawfully in the United States, which includes an asylum applicant or someone with temporary protected status;
9. is illegally using a controlled substance;
10. is on probation for a conviction of possessing drugs;
11. is in possession of a dangerous weapon and is knowingly and intentionally illegally possessing drugs;
12. has been found “not guilty by reason of insanity” for a felony offense;
13. has been found “mentally incompetent to stand trial” for a felony offense;
14. has been judged “mentally defective” or has been committed to a mental institution;
15. has been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; or
16. has renounced his/her citizenship after having been a citizen of the United States.¹

Also, federal laws, which apply to all states, restrict a person’s right to have a gun under certain circumstances such as when the abuser has been convicted of certain domestic violence-related crimes or if you have a protective order against the abuser that meets certain requirements. Go to our Federal Gun Laws page to get more information.

¹ Utah Code §§ 76-10-503(1)-(3); 76-10-501(6)(a)