Firearm Permit War Breaks Out Between NM and Utah

The state of New Mexico will no longer accept Utah’s gun permits. New Mexico claims Utah’s training requirements for a permit are inadequate on fail to meet New Mexico’s standards. State Public Safety Secretary John Denko says Utah licenses require significantly less training than New Mexico’s. Utah Shooting Sports Council’s Clark Aposhian claims Utah has the best training in the country.

Aposhian claims money, not lack of training, is behind the ban. Utah only charges $35 for gun licenses while New Mexico charges $100. There have been reports of New Mexico gun trainers urging clients to get Utah permits to save $65 in fees.

Aposhian notes that 35 states accept Utah gun permits but only 21 states accept New Mexico’s permits. Aposhian also says that Utah does background checks every 24 hours while New Mexico only checks permits every four years.

Reasonable permit costs should be charged to cover the costs of doing a background check. But states shouldn’t use high fees as a way to keep law abiding citizens from exercising their 2^nd Amendment Rights. Nor should states uses permits of any kind as a cash cow meant to fill budget deficits.