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House approves tougher penalties for drive-by shootings, adds exemption for lawful range use
Summary
The Utah House passed amendments clarifying drive-by shooting penalties and adding an exemption to avoid prosecuting lawful firearms-range activity; the measure passed unanimously and moves to the Senate.
The Utah House on Feb. 20 passed House Bill 113, a measure that clarifies the state's discharge-of-firearm statutes to specifically address drive-by shootings and raises penalties for such conduct.
Representative Wimmer, the bill sponsor, told colleagues the change was intended to fill a gap in the law that had not specifically addressed drive-by shootings. He said the bill “makes it so that if you are the driver of a vehicle during a drive-by shooting, the driver's license division can revoke your driver's license automatically” and that the measure establishes graduated felony penalties depending on injury.
Wimmer also offered Amendment No. 1 to ensure that people lawfully using firearms on ranges or on private property would not be swept up by the new statute. “What this amendment does is plain and simply make sure that those who are practicing lawfully on a firearms range do not fall under this bill and are not prosecuted,” he said. The House adopted that amendment by voice vote and then approved the bill as amended.
Supporters said the change brings clarity and was backed by prosecutors and law-enforcement representatives who reviewed the draft. Under the amendment and as described on the floor, a drive-by shooting is treated as a third-degree felony even if no one is hit; causing minimal injury is a second-degree felony; causing serious bodily injury elevates the offense to a first-degree felony.
The House recorded the final vote as unanimous in favor. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
