News & Updates

H.B. 331 Prohibition on Firearm Modification Devices

Section Affected:
U.C.A. 76-3-203.8 Increase of sentence if dangerous weapon used.
U.C.A. 76-5-202 Aggravated murder.

Section Created:
U.C.A. 76-10-533 Prohibited devices.

Under this Bill it would enact 76-10-533 and make it ILLEGAL for a person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, receive, or possess:
• Any manual, power-driven, or electronic device primarily designed, or redesigned, so that when the device is attached to a semiautomatic firearm the device significantly increases the rate of fire of the firearm or approximates the action or rate of fire of a machinegun.
• Any device, part, or combination of parts, that is designed and functions to significantly increase the rate of fire of a firearm, by eliminating the need for the operator of the firearm to make a separate movement for each individual function of the trigger.
• A semiautomatic firearm that has been modified in any way that significantly increases the rate of fire of the firearm or approximates the action or rate of fire of a machinegun.

It would allow a law enforcement officer to confiscate any device if, at the time of confiscation, the device may be easily detached from the firearm, (the owner gets to keep the firearm) or if, at the time of confiscation, the device cannot be easily separated from the firearm, the law enforcement officer shall confiscate the firearm with the device and provide the owner with a receipt and instructions detailing where and under what conditions the owner may retrieve the firearm. If the firearm is confiscated, the law enforcement officer and the law enforcement agency are not liable for any damage to the firearm caused by the removal of the prohibited device.

The Bill would take effect on July 1, 2019.
This Bill does not state the penalty for violating this potential law other than if the device was used in the commission or furtherance of a felony or homicide.

This ban follows the recent ban on Bump Stocks by the ATF which goes into effect on March 26, 2019, and would target the devices referred to as a “Binary Trigger” such as the Franklin Armory® Binary Firing System™ BFSIII™ making it illegal. This device is designed to increase the rate of fire by firing one round when the trigger is pressed and one round when the trigger is released.

 We Oppose This Bill