Some Utah legislators are eyeing a bill aimed at preventing the federal government from regulating guns in the state.
Montana's Legislature recently passed a bill that Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed into law that would exempt guns made in the state and kept within its borders from federal regulations, including registration, background checks and dealer-licensing.
It's an idea that's appealing to some of Utah's conservative legislators, who say President Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress are strongly anti-gun and are trying to overstep their bounds and infringing on states' rights.
"I think [Montana's law] preempts somewhat what the federal government is trying to do right now in gun registration," said Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman. "This is something Utah should look into. We should look into several different avenues to reassert state rights."
Wimmer says he or one of his colleagues may run a similar bill in next year's legislative session, and it's an idea that has traction among many legislators who are fiercely pro-gun rights and pro-states' rights.
"I wish I had thought of it," said Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork. "I would support legislation like that in a heartbeat because basically the federal government is continuing to move to try to restrain guns."
Not everyone is as eager to jump on the issue.
Montana's law likely will face legal challenge, and potentially could be tied up in the court system for years. That makes Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, hesitant to pass similar legislation in Utah.
"Testing how far we can expand gun rights when we already have fairly liberal gun ownership laws is not a priority in my book given our current economic challenges," she said. "I'd rather let Montana take the lead on this and see how far they can get with this law as on first blush I have some questions about its constitutionality."
The Utah Shooting Sports Council lists eight firearms manufacturers in the state.
Such a law likely wouldn't have a noticeable affect on business at Browning, probably the best known of these companies.
The only weapons Browning manufactures in Salt Lake City directly are the Buck Mark .22 caliber pistol and rifle, and demand is so high worldwide that the company can't produce enough of them in a year.
"Browning is a worldwide vendor with company vendors all over the place," said spokesman Scott Grange. "It's such a small percentage of guns that are made and bought in Utah, comparatively, that it wouldn't affect business at all."
Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, has spoken with some of the drafters of Montana's law, and has contacted the National Rifle Association about it.
He says he still has some questions about specifics such as the ability to leave guns as an inheritance to an out-of-state relative.
"I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude, but I wouldn't be adverse to seeing the bill pass here," he said. "Other states will try to run similar bills, and we'll see what happens on a national scale. It's just one of those test-type deals, but there's merit behind the idea."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
