Dangerous Weapon Amendments

Removed the prohibition preventing individuals aged 21 and older from carrying loaded firearms on the grounds of state institutions of higher education.

Reordered and renumbered the list of prohibited locations for open carry to fix inconsistencies where certain locations were missing for specific age groups.

Changed the effective date of the legislation from May 6, 2026, to February 2, 2026.

Removed redundant and conflicting text regarding the definition of 'on or about campus premises' and the cross-reference to Section 76-11-202.

Removed a garbled, non-functional section header and title that appeared in the previous version.

Replaced the long, complex title with a simpler, clearer title: 'Higher Education Dangerous Weapon Amendments'.

Updated the list of affected statutes to include 47-3-305 (shooting ranges) and 76-11-220, and explicitly added 76-11-205.5 to the repeal list.

Clarified the bill's intent by removing the phrase 'removing private institutions of higher education from locations where the offense is applicable' from the highlighted provisions, as the core law still applies to private colleges.

Changed the rule for individuals under 21 to explicitly remove private institutions of higher education from locations where open carry is prohibited.

Clarified that individuals with any type of concealed carry permit (including out-of-state permits) cannot openly carry a dangerous weapon at an institution of higher education unless they are lawfully responding to an active threat.

Added a new requirement for individuals with concealed carry permits issued by another state to register their firearm with the state.

Corrected a typo in the statute where the word 'provisional' was incorrectly assigned to the wrong permit type.

Fixed a formatting error in the statute where a permit type was accidentally omitted from the list of exemptions.

Added explicit permission for individuals aged 18-20 to openly carry unloaded firearms in public locations not prohibited by law.

Changed open carry rules at institutions of higher education to prohibit open carry for all individuals regardless of age or permit status, unless responding to an active threat.

Added new requirement that individuals with concealed carry permits cannot openly carry at elementary or secondary schools unless responding to an active threat.

Reorganized and clarified definitions regarding where firearms can be carried, separating rules for different age groups and permit types.

Removed previous ambiguous language about carrying weapons on public streets and replaced it with clearer, more specific language.

The definition of 'on school premises' was clarified to apply to both public and private institutions of higher education.

The penalty for carrying a firearm on campus was changed from a class A misdemeanor to a class C misdemeanor.

The section number for the open carry provision was updated from 76-11-205.5 to reflect new line numbers in the text.

Fixed a text duplication error in Section 53-5a-102.2 where the phrase 'subject to Subsections (2)(a) and (b)' was accidentally repeated, which could have confused the legal rules for different age groups.

Added an exemption in Section 76-11-205.5 clarifying that a person is not committing a crime if they are lawfully concealing a weapon but accidentally or inadvertently expose it to public view.

Corrected a typo in Section 76-11-205.5 where the definition of 'on or about school premises' had the words 'public or private' and 'an' inserted in the wrong places, disrupting the sentence structure.

Allows individuals aged 21 and older to conceal carry a dangerous weapon at an institution of higher education without needing a concealed carry permit.

Clarifies that individuals aged 18 to 20 may openly carry an unloaded firearm in any public location not prohibited by state or federal law.

Removes private institutions of higher education from the list of locations where openly carrying a dangerous weapon is prohibited.

Prohibits individuals from openly carrying a dangerous weapon at any institution of higher education unless they are lawfully responding to an active threat.

Adds a restriction preventing individuals with concealed carry permits from openly carrying weapons on elementary or secondary school grounds unless responding to an active threat.