This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The number of Utah concealed weapon permits issued went down by a quarter in the past year.
About 81,300 out-of-state residents and another 20,300 Utahns acquired a permit in 2014, representatives from the Bureau of Criminal Identification said Wednesday.
The officers delivered an annual report to a panel of state representatives charged with overseeing law enforcement and criminal justice issues.
Last year was the peak for the total number of permits issued — 133,766.
Alice Moffat, the director of the bureau, said the reason for last year's uptick isn't clear, because officials don't ask applicants to say why they want a permit.
"We don't know why it was such a big year," Moffat said.
Lawmakers and gun advocates have speculated that the trend was rooted in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, when 20 children and six adults were killed in the small town. Gun and ammunition sales across the country spiked on fears gun control measures might limit Second Amendment rights.
Nationwide, many gun owners choose to apply for a Utah permit because it's widely recognized by other states. Over the past two decades, the majority of Utah concealed carry permits have been out-of-state licenses.
As of 2014, 576,637 gun owners nationwide carry the state's concealed weapon permit. Currently, 62 percent of those carrying Utah's permit are from out of state; 38 percent are Utahns.
"Utah's permit is a huge value," Clark Aposhian of the Utah Shooting Sports Council told the Tribune last year. Thirty-five other states recognize the permit, but Utah requires applicants to first have a permit in their own states.
This year, the bureau noted a spike in renewals — up to 92,239 in 2014 from 34,880 last year — the result of a new five-year permit period. Permit regulators expect a similar renewal spike every five years.
Even though the number of permits issued dipped this year, the state counted more instructors. Just over 1,660 out-of-state instructors taught Utah's concealed weapon permit course in 2014, up from last year's level of 1,340. There are 660 firearm instructors in Utah this year.
The number of revocations also rose this year — to 285. That's primarily because the office is more accurate in its bookkeeping than in years past, Moffat said. —
Concealed weapons by the numbers:
Total Utah permits issued — 133,766 (2013); 101,640 (2014)
In-state permits issued — 40,130 (2013); 20,328 (2014)
Out-of-state permits issued — 93,636 (2013); 81,312 (2014)
Number of Utah instructors — 585 (2013); 660 (2014)
Out-of-state instructors — 1,342 (2013); 1,662 (2014)
Revocations — 238 (2013); 285 (2014)
Suspensions — 807 (2013); 2,337 (2014)
Fiscal Year 2014 Balance Sheet
Revenue — $4,194,620
Expenditures (supplies, operations and card printing) — $4,252,210
Fee Shortage — $57,590
Fiscal Year 2015 projections
Revenue from 70,000 applicants — $2 million
Renewal fees for 50,000 permits $750,000
New instructor applications — $20,000
Instructor renewals — $5,000
Total Collections — $2.775 million
Source: State Bureau of Criminal Investigation. › XX