Gun Regulation

Category: Individual Liberty

Under Utah statute, a municipality may only impose laws related to firearms that regulate their discharge. However, cities are not required to impose any particular law at all. State law already includes a number of provisions about discharge near structures or when on another's property. This metric measures the degree to which city law attempts to regulate the discharge of firearms in some way.

The first measure is a qualitative binary score for whether a city regulates the discharge of firearms. This measure counts as 30% of the overall metric score.

The second measure is a three-point scale that scores a city's firearm discharge regulations:

1. Discharge disallowed in the city with no specific exceptions made explicit in the code
2. Discharge disallowed in the city but city code makes self defense or other exceptions explicit in the code
3. No firearm discharge restrictions found in the code

The second measure counts as 40% of the overall metric score.

Because cities are limited by state law to regulating the discharge of firearms only, laws in addition to this may be in violation of state law and may also be in violation of the Second Amendment. As state law may change from year to year, it is best if city code remains silent on matters where state law has pre-empted the cities. This can help the city avoid future conflict or confusion.

The third measure is a three-point scale that scores whether a city has imposed additional firearm regulations beyond discharge:

1. City code includes expansive additional restrictions not in accordance with state or federal law (examples include regulations on the possession of firearms in public parks)
2. City code includes limited additional firearm regulations or attempts at incorporating state law (examples include provisions about minors or treatment centers)
3. No additional firearm regulations found in city code

The third measure counts as 30% of the overall metric score. Each measure is normalized individually using statistical z-scores and the total metric counts as 15% of the overall Individual Liberty category.

To see a specific city's laws for this metric, click on its name in the right column, then find the row in the table below the Individual Liberty category.