Bill advances seeking to keep guns from domestic violence perpetrators

SALT LAKE CITY — Carl Calaway knows that keeping guns out of the hands of individuals facing domestic violence convictions or protective orders likely wouldn't have saved his daughter's life, but it's part of a bigger conversation he believes needs to happen.

"She was a good, kind person," Calaway said of his daughter, 23-year-old Katherine Peralta. The woman was gunned down in December by her husband, who then turned the gun on himself. The woman's family said Richard Peralta, 25, had just learned his wife wanted a divorce.

"This bill might not have saved her specifically, but there need to be bills like this to start making changes," Calaway said.

HB206 sponsor Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said the bill would align Utah law with federal law, emphasizing that Utah's domestic violence crime rate has long been higher than the national average.

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