Safe to Teach, Safe to Learn

“Safe to Teach, Safe to Learn” is a consolidated movement of Utah firearm education organizations and local firearm related businesses to provide Utah school employees with quality firearm education, shopping resources, and training. The goal is simple, keep our kids safe. 

You may have heard that law-abiding Utah residents no longer need a permit to legally carry concealed in Utah.

As of May 1st, 2021, this is true.

However, without a Utah Concealed Firearm Permit, a firearm cannot be legally carried within 1,000 ft. of our schools. (1990 Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act)

Who qualifies for this free Utah Concealed Firearm Permit class?

This class is for all Utah public and private school employees who do not currently have their permit.

When and where?

The class(es) will be held Saturday July 9th, 2022 at the Mountain America Credit Union Expo Center in Sandy, UT. 

TWO separate class sessions are available:

• Morning class 9AM - 2PM 

• Afternoon class 4PM - 9PM

• Pre-registration is required

• Class size is limited to 35 students each, with 5 classes running simultaneously

• Register early because we will not be expanding the class size.

Who will be teaching the class?

This class will be taught by vetted, Dept. of Public Safety - Utah BCI certified instructors.

What is covered in the Utah CFP curriculum?

• Handgun safety rules

• Handgun parts and operation (Semi automatic vs revolver)

• Ammunition (Types & safety practices)

• Handgun fundamentals (Stance, Grip, etc.)

• Safety equipment

• Malfunction clearing

• Proper firearm maintenance & storage

• Utah & Federal weapon laws

• Justification of force

• Situational awareness

• Weapon familiarity training 

• And more

Additional FAQs, please read:

• Concessions will not be available and MACU Expo is not allowing us to bring food trucks, so please pack your own sack lunch (or dinner). We will have very limited bottled water & light snacks available, mostly for the volunteers.

• To protect your privacy, the news media will not be allowed in the classrooms.

• Barring an imminent, violent threat, all firearms are to remain holstered. Any violation of this rule will result in immediate dismissal from the event.(You do not need to own or bring your own firearm to attend a class)

• Local firearms related businesses will also be onsite in a separate, dedicated classroom to educate interested attendees about relevant products & services available to them. These companies have been vetted for this specific event by the Utah 2A Alliance for quality and relevance to you. Our hope is that Utah school employees will feel comfortable in this environment, with only your peers around you, to ask any questions you might have about shopping for equipment and future training.

• Non-negotiable Punctuality: Our instructors are required by law to cover a certain amount of class material. If you are not present for the entire class, you will not be qualified for the permit(s). If you show up late, you may be turned away. Our instructors cannot risk their accreditations by certifying those who are not in attendance for the entire class, or those who are absent for any significant portion of the class. 

• Attending half of the class in the morning and half in the evening will not be permitted. The reason for this is that in order for instructors to sign their name to your application, they must be confident that you were present for all required parts of the Utah CFP curriculum.

Utah 2A Alliance is made up of Utah Shooting Sports Council, Utah Shooters Organization, and Utah Firearms Association. One of the missions of the Utah 2A Alliance is to keep kids safe, period. To do this we have combined stalwart organizations, businesses and resources to educate the public writ large, that Utah schools are not populated by defenseless citizens. This education is to be shared deliberately, to dissuade would-be mass murderers of the notion that our K-12 and college campuses are soft targets – because they are not.

Since 2004, anyone with a Utah Concealed Firearm Permit has been legally allowed to carry any firearm, onto any pre-K–12 school or college campus. This includes our teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, parents and legally aged students to whom a Utah CFP has been issued. Utah schools are not allowed to prohibit open or concealed carry by Utah CFP holders.

19% of Utah's adult population has a Utah CFP, which means, every day approximately 44,650 adults on Utah college campuses alone, are legally permitted to carry firearms.*

A firearm’s primary purpose in the hands of law-abiding citizens is to stop imminent, violent threats. We refuse to let the most innocent among us, our children and their educators, be victims of would-be mass murderers. We want the world to know that in Utah schools, it is “Safe to Teach, Safe to Learn”. 

*(See Utah Code section 63-98-102 Utah Department of Public Safety. DPS - Criminal Identification (BCI). (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2022 https://bci.utah.gov/firearm-transfers/history-overview-statistics/firearm-transfer-concealed-firearm-permit-statistics/)