SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — According to sources at the Republic and Salt Lake Tribune, more than 399 concealed carry permits in the state of Utah have been revoked since June, 2015 – for one reason: the fingerprints were deemed illegible. It’s already poised to be the second largest year for concealed carry permit revocations in Utah and it’s sending applicants and permit holders scrambling to ensure their fingerprints meet Utah’s enhanced criteria.
When asked for comment, a firearms supervisor with Utah’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, Jason Chapman said this:
“It’s not necessarily that the person did anything bad if we’re taking their permit away, we just couldn’t complete background checks.”
So far, 323 of the 399 revocations have been due to bad fingerprints. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, of the 615,000 concealed carry permit holders, not a single one had their permit revoked due to fingerprints prior to March, 2015.
In Utah, both resident and non-resident concealed carry permit applicants must complete a concealed carry firearms safety course and submit a set of fingerprints to the FBI – which are then added to the FBI’s national database.
The FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) was established to link concealed carry permit holders with crimes that have been committed. It’s also used to identify fingerprints recovered from a scene of a crime and block felons from obtaining a concealed carry permit in Utah.
For Utah concealed carry permit holders, if their fingerprints were deemed “illegible” then Utah would require new ones before renewal. Recent changes in the law make it necessary for the concealed carry permit holder to have his or her permit revoked until he or she submits a new, legible copy of fingerprints.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the second greatest contributor to revocations has been due to alcohol-related arrests, felony charges, and possession of controlled substances.
The State of Utah must inform the concealed carrier that his or her permit has been revoked. Usually, the reason for that revocation is included in the letter. No word yet on the reapplication process once new fingerprints have been obtained. It’s recommended that if you have a resident or non-resident Utah concealed carry permit and receive a letter revoking your concealed carry permit, you should check out Utah’s Department of Public Safety website for information and contact the Utah Bureau of Criminal Investigation to see what actions need to be taken on your end to remedy the situation.
The Utah Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s contact info:
Bureau of Criminal Identification
3888 West 5400 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84129
801-965-4445