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House advances firearms-in-vehicles measure with technical amendments; members push back on mandatory five‑year revocation
Summary
House sponsors advanced a bill to revoke driving privileges for anyone who discharges a firearm or uses an incendiary device from a vehicle; prosecutors’ technical amendments were accepted but members questioned an uncompromising five-year mandatory revocation for juveniles.
Representative Suazo presented House Bill 5, a public-safety measure to mandate driver’s-license revocation for a person who discharges a firearm or uses an incendiary device from a vehicle. Sponsor language emphasized the bill targets drive-by shootings and other vehicle-based weapons offenses; amendments keyed cross-references to existing criminal statutes and clarified that the measure addresses passengers who discharge weapons during drive‑bys.
Suazo cited local gang statistics to justify urgency: the sponsor summarized rising numbers of identified gangs and gang-related crimes in Salt Lake County in recent years and said the bill is intended as a deterrent tool, not a complete solution. "This bill is not a complete answer, but it is a tool to discourage, to deter, and hopefully disarm criminal gang members by revoking their driver's license privileges," the sponsor said.
Floor members pressed for narrower drafting and for discretion. Representative Heyman and others asked whether the bill’s terms — including the use of the words "explosive" or "incendiary" and the minimum five‑year mandatory revocation (or until age 21) — would reach lawful hunters, ranchers or adults acting on private property. The sponsor said exemptions and statutory cross-references limit reach: state law already treats discharge from a vehicle near a highway as a separate misdemeanor in some contexts, and the new provisions are intended for violent, weapons‑based offenses.
Opponents also warned that strictly mandatory revocations can have unintended consequences for rehabilitating juveniles and could impose lasting penalties on youths who later pursue lawful employment or training. After extended debate the House agreed to technical amendments advised by prosecutors and moved to circle the bill to refine the mandatory-revocation language and address concerns raised on the floor.
Next steps: sponsor and interested members signaled plans to refine definitions, consider juvenile‑specific discretion and return with updated draft language.
