Utah is looking to reshape gun policy on college campuses, banning open carry while making it easier to concealed carry.

The proposal cleared the Senate on the final day of the Legislature’s 2026 general session, but must also be approved by the House before midnight.

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Current law allows both open and concealed carry on Utah’s campuses, as long as you have a concealed carry permit. The new bill, HB84 — sponsored by Representative Walt Brooks, R-St. George — looks to remove permit requirements for concealed carriers on public college campuses, but outright ban open carry.

If it becomes law, the new campus gun law would take effect May 6.

Utah is a constitutional carry state — meaning legal gun owners don’t need a permit to open or concealed carry in public places. The original bill would have removed permit requirements for both open and concealed carry, consistent with statewide law, but Brooks said he faced resistance, prompting him to amend the bill to ban open carry.

“Open carrying does cause a lot of concern with a lot of people, especially on campuses,” Brooks said. “We got so much pushback, and part of it was because (of) the Charlie Kirk incident, which really is not related at all, but that’s where the fear is coming from.”

In September 2025, right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated while hosting an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem. The gunman allegedly used a long-range rifle to shoot Kirk from the roof of a nearby building on campus.

“Working with that higher ed commissioner, we removed that piece, so it’s just concealed carry weapons,” Brooks added, emphasizing that the bill’s intent is “to allow more people to have protection for themselves.”

Safety on campus

Brooks told Utah News Dispatch he would “rather have more people have access to carry on campus, rather than fewer people having more options to carry, when there’s open and concealed.”

According to report by Everytown — an anti-gun violence research organization — policies to “force colleges to allow guns on campuses are likely to lead to more shootings, homicides, and suicides.” The report adds they also hinder a school’s ability to “prevent mass shootings on campus.”

Asked what his message is to students expressing safety concerns, Brooks told Utah News Dispatch, “OK, thank you for their opinion. I think people have the right to have their opinions for safety or not safety,” he said. “We just look back at what’s the data, and the data shows that this shouldn’t have any concerns at all.”