Nevada draws fire after shooting down Utah gun permits

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_13335238

Utah gun owners are protesting Nevada's decision to reject
Utah-issued concealed-weapon permits.

On July 1, the Nevada Sheriffs' and Chiefs' Association, which sets
the Silver State's permit recognition requirements, dropped Utah from
the list of states whose permit holders also may carry concealed
firearms in Nevada.

The reason: Utah does not require permit holders to prove their
proficiency with a live-fire test on a shooting range.

"You don't get a driver's license without taking a driving-in-the-car
test," Frank Adams, the Nevada association's executive director, said
Monday. The same should apply for weapons owners, he said. "You should
at least show proficiency."

The policy group Gun Owners of Utah this past weekend issued a call
for letters and e-mails of protest after getting an alert from the
National Rifle Association. On Monday, though, group spokesman Bill
Clayton said the cause appears hopeless because Nevada authorities
interpret their state law as backing up the ban.

Nevada law requires permittees from other states to meet substantially
the same requirements as Nevada holders, and Nevada requires a
shooting test.

"We don't want to impose any more burdens on permit applicants than
are necessary," Clayton said, but other states do. "I guess for the
time being that's a fact of life."

Gun Owners of Utah sees no difference in safety records among states
that require a shooting test and those
Advertisement
that don't, Clayton said. So the group does not support changing
Utah's requirements to regain Nevada's confidence.

Clark Aposhian, of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, said he plans to
fly to Las Vegas today to protest at the Nevada association's
concealed-weapons forum. The meeting actually is in Carson City but is
accessible by teleconference in Las Vegas.

A shooting test has no bearing on safety, Aposhian said, because it
does not translate to real-world uses of concealed weapons. Hitting a
target at 25 yards is not the same as handling a weapon during a
life-threatening situation, he said, often at arm's length.

"It's insignificant," Aposhian said of a live-fire test. "At best it's
insignificant."

Aposhian accused Nevada of trying to protect the livelihood of its
firearm instructors by nixing Utah's permits within its boundaries.
Utah's permits are recognized in roughly double the number of states
where Nevada's permits are good. As a result, he said, some people
have opted to get Utah permits instead of paying for training in
Nevada.

Utah's permits currently are recognized in 33 states, according to the
Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification. That list accounts for
Nevada's recent withdrawal and Nebraska's new policy recognizing Utah
permits.

Adams said Utahns still can carry concealed weapons in Nevada if they
first get a Nevada permit. That means visiting a Nevada county and
taking training that he said takes eight to 16 hours.

bloomis@sltrib.com