Posted on 03/04/2011 5:10:58 AM PST by marktwain
One thing Utah’s recent legislative sessions have made clear is that Utahns like their guns, and they like the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
That amendment, as ratified by the states, reads:
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Sounds simple, no? No.
Utah’s Constitution is more explicit. According to Article 1, Section 6:
“The individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state, as well as for other lawful purposes shall not be infringed; but nothing herein shall prevent the Legislature from defining the lawful use of arms.”
The national media has given Utah’s legislature a lot of coverage on the issue of guns. Utah made the national news when legislators proposed adopting the legendary Browning-designed M1911 semiautomatic pistol as the state firearm.
John Moses Browning was born in Ogden, Utah, in 1855. The lawmakers’ bill will probably pass the Senate with only Democrats (there are six) voting against it.
According to the Deseret News, one dissenter, Sen. Gene Davis (Salt Lake) wondered whether the bees on the state flag should be equipped with the M1911.
Following the January shooting in Tucson that injured 19 people, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and killed six, the national press took an interest in Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s more oft-concealed Glock 23.
In February of 2010, Utah joined Montana and several other states in passing its version of a “Firearms Freedom Act,” exempting weapons manufactured and sold in the state from federal firearms regulations and the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed the bill into law with the proviso that its implementation be delayed until Montana plaintiffs litigating their firearms law win against the U.S. Attorney General, or win in the Court of Appeals, or win in the Supreme Court.
There’s been gun play at an intrastate level as well. The University of Utah lost a lawsuit to keep handguns—except those carried by police—entirely off campus in 2006. In April of 2010, the university’s protocol for “handling” open-carry situations was leaked to the press. Included was a memorandum from U. President Michael Young that read, in part:
“Since the tragedies of Virginia Tech and other campus shooting incidents, many faculty, staff and students have expressed to me great concern about the issue of guns on campus.”
And:
“…Utah statutes do not permit anyone to open carry on campus, regardless of whether the person has a concealed carry permit.”
And:
“The open display of weapons on campus causes anxiety and fear that disrupt the educational process. … Every time a weapon is openly displayed on the campus (other than in the possession of a police officer), the University invariably receives calls from persons concerned about the presence of the weapon and the person carrying the weapon.”
The memo makes no more mention of individuals who feel “anxiety and fear” when they see a police officer openly carrying a deadly weapon, or those who might be comforted by the fact that, with more guns on campus, it would only be a matter of time before a lunatic shooter was stopped by another gun owner.
The protocol instructs officers confronted with an openly-carried weapon (and a concealed carry permit) to stuff it someplace hidden (no, not there), and if the owner refuses, to issue citations for disorderly conduct or “disrupting the operation of a school,” and to ask him to leave campus.
Young wanted the protocol kept secret, which would seem to be a recipe for misunderstandings, considering that most people, and especially the gun-carrying variety, like to know, and probably deserve to know 1) what the law is, 2) how authorities interpret it and 3) how “peace officers” intend to enforce it.
According to Remi Barron, public relations specialist for the University of Utah, the security guard and campus policeman who leaked the protocol were put on paid leave while an investigation was conducted, and then allowed to return to their jobs.
Rep. Curtis Oda (R-Clearfield) had a meeting with Young wherein, according to the Daily Utah Chronicle, “…they came to an understanding that the U. cannot ban open carry or regulate any other state firearms law.”
Oda confirms the gist of the conversation. “If someone is openly carrying a firearm (and has a concealed gun permit),” he says, “the university can politely ask him to conceal his weapon, but if he refuses, there’s really nothing they can do about it.”
Barron says he can’t discuss whether the protocol has changed. But he says the university’s “interpretation of the current concealed weapons permit law is no different than that of all other public Utah colleges and that of the Utah System of Higher Education.”
Oda’s own House Bill 75 rescinds an earlier law which makes it a criminal offense for citizens to carry a weapon openly within 1,000 feet of a school or university campus. He says the law has made criminals of law-abiding citizens who inadvertently transgressed the boundary.
“You might come around a corner and find yourself next to a school,” says Oda. “What are you going to do (when you have to pass by a school), use a measuring tape?”
Oda’s bill eliminates the buffer, making it an offence to enter school premises with an openly-carried firearm. It passed in the House of Representatives 58-15 and has moved on to the senate.
State Representative Carl Wimmer (R-Herriman), is said to be working on a bill that would eliminate the requirement for a concealed-carry permit entirely. Similar “constitutional carry” legislation in Vermont, Alaska and Arizona (but not Texas?!) allows citizens to “pack heat” without so much as a background check.
Even with the 2011 legislative session nearing its end, there will be more news on gun laws in the next few weeks.
Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.
Justice prevails.
While the whistleblowers were reinstated, I hope that there is no furter retaliation. They are heros in my book.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.