# A legality question?



## huntducksordietrying (Sep 21, 2007)

Is an open carry loaded gun legal in the state of utah? I know there are restrictions on where you can have a gun but could I walk threw down town with a .357 on my hip in plain veiw?


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

Without a concealed carry permit, your gun must be "unloaded", which for a revolver means no cartridge under the hammer or in the next chamber. With a permit you may have it fully loaded. But yes, open carry is perfectly legal in Utah.

There is some good reading about it at http://www.opencarry.org


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## huntducksordietrying (Sep 21, 2007)

So on that note can you carry an unloaded weapon concealed or in a glove box?


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

If you have a gun concealed without a permit, it cannot be "readily accessible for immediate use." So, you can have one concealed in a pack or in a glove box as long as it meets that requirement. Another phrase used in the Utah code is "securely encased." Basically if you have a gun that can be quickly accessed then it's illegal to conceal it without a permit. Firearms in your vehicle must be either in plain sight, or securely encased/not readily accessible. A locked glove box might be considered securely encased.


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## huntducksordietrying (Sep 21, 2007)

So can I carry a pistol loaded on my hip while Im in the mountains hiking around? Sorry I am just curious.


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

Yes you can. The law only requires that it be unloaded while in a vehicle or on a street. It's also interesting that there's an exception to the concealed firearm rule that says if someone is hunting, they can carry a concealed firearm as long as the barrel is at least 4" long. Reading through the Utah code was helpful to me when I was learning the gun laws. Here's a page over at utahconcealedcarry that has links to most of the firearms laws you'll need to know:

Gun Laws


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## huntducksordietrying (Sep 21, 2007)

Thanks "the killer" (we are in america you know). JK. I got a lot of reading in on those links.


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## James (Oct 7, 2007)

Yes, open carry is legal in Utah. However it is illegal to carry a loaded firearm on a street, or in a vehicle. The Utah concealed carry permit exempts the holder from these laws, and you can then carry loaded, concealed or open. I highly recommend the carry permit for all owners of handguns. With the carry permit you can carry everywhere except for restricted areas (like the restricted area of an airport) federal buildings, Nat'l Parks, and some churches, or anywhere a sign is posted. A few companies won't let their employees carry on the company property, but that is a matter of policy not law.

The NRA has some good info on the state laws of all the states at this link:

http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/

If you will be going into other states with guns it is good to know their code too. 
You don't have to read very far to learn how good we have it here in Utah.

James

(Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and you are responsible to do your own research.)


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

fatbass said:


> El Matador said:
> 
> 
> > Without a concealed carry permit, your gun must be "unloaded", which for a revolver means no cartridge under the hammer or in the next chamber. With a permit you may have it fully loaded. But yes, open carry is perfectly legal in Utah.
> ...


Wheelguns ? What the hell is that ? Same dictionary as the 'fowlpiece' ? _(O)_

Do you mean a revolver ?


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

fatbass said:


> Wheelguns with "transfer bar" systems rather than a firing pin on the hammer can have a loaded chamber directly under the hammer (but not in the "next firing" cylinder) and still be considered unloaded. You still have to perform 2 actions to fire the weapon.


This is not correct. I don't know where you got your info, but here is the actual code:



> (1) For the purpose of this chapter, any pistol, revolver, shotgun, rifle, or other weapon described in this part shall be deemed to be loaded when there is an unexpended cartridge, shell, or projectile *in the firing position.*
> (2) Pistols and revolvers shall also be deemed to be loaded when an unexpended cartridge, shell, or projectile is in a position whereby the manual operation of any mechanism once would cause the unexpended cartridge, shell, or projectile to be fired.


You cannot have a cartridge under the hammer regardless of how the firing pin works.


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## huntducksordietrying (Sep 21, 2007)

El Matador said:


> fatbass said:
> 
> 
> > Wheelguns with "transfer bar" systems rather than a firing pin on the hammer can have a loaded chamber directly under the hammer (but not in the "next firing" cylinder) and still be considered unloaded. You still have to perform 2 actions to fire the weapon.
> ...


Not even a spent cartridge?


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

El Matador said:


> fatbass said:
> 
> 
> > Wheelguns with "transfer bar" systems rather than a firing pin on the hammer can have a loaded chamber directly under the hammer (but not in the "next firing" cylinder) and still be considered unloaded. You still have to perform 2 actions to fire the weapon.
> ...


It *ain't* in the firing position. It can't be fired. It will be the last round expended if the weapon is fired. Until the trigger is pulled, or the hammer ****ed, the transfer bar will not cause the firing pin to make contact with the primer. If the trigger is pulled, the next (empty) chamber will rotate into the firing position. If the hammer is ****ed, the next (empty) chamber will rotate into the firing position. It takes two pulls of the trigger to fire a revolver with a transfer bar with a round in line with the barrel, and the next chamber empty.

Fishrmn


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

It may just be easier , on a revolver, to keep the cylinder below the hammer empty. The next cylinder 'in line' also needs to be empty...Therefore, on a six-shooter, you're allowed 4 live rounds..

Or....you can just go buy a CCW permit and lose all common sense, load the pig up all the way with one in the barrel. With this new form of common sense, you can also carry the gun loaded, with or without the safey on. You can also carry 'all' the guns you want to !! 2, 3 or 10 ...whatever makes you feel protected....all of these can also be fully loaded and ****ed....my gawd, you just never know when you're going to have a massive shootout with the bad guys... _(O)_

Oh...and yeah....forget about everything you ever learned when you took your gun safety course. With a CCW ....all the safety issue's you learned now don't apply....


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## huntducksordietrying (Sep 21, 2007)

.45 said:


> It may just be easier , on a revolver, to keep the cylinder below the hammer empty. The next cylinder 'in line' also needs to be empty...Therefore, on a six-shooter, you're allowed 4 live rounds..
> 
> Or....you can just go buy a CCW permit and lose all common sense, load the pig up all the way with one in the barrel. With this new form of common sense, you can also carry the gun loaded, with or without the safey on. You can also carry 'all' the guns you want to !! 2, 3 or 10 ...whatever makes you feel protected....all of these can also be fully loaded and ****ed....my gawd, you just never know when you're going to have a massive shootout with the bad guys... _(O)_
> 
> Oh...and yeah....forget about everything you ever learned when you took your gun safety course. With a CCW ....all the safety issue's you learned now don't apply....


I have been waiting for someone to give me the go ahead with what I want to do.  I feel like a kid in the candy store now.


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