State Gun Laws

Under Utah state law, if law enforcement responds to an allegation of domestic violence, they may take any weapons involved in the incident to prevent further violence. The weapons will be held by the police and returned to the abuser if a protective order is not issued, or when the order ends if a protective order is issued.¹

There are no other laws in Utah about how an abuser must give up (“relinquish”) a firearm when an abuser is or becomes ineligible to have or buy a gun. Just because your protective order says that the abuser cannot have a gun, do not assume that the abuser’s gun will be taken away or that s/he will not be able to get a gun. It is important to keep this in mind when safety planning. However, if a person has a gun when they are not allowed to, it may be a violation of Utah’s criminal laws and could be reported to law enforcement.

¹ UT Code § 77-36-2.1