Yesterday, the Utah School Safety Commission met with the press to discuss their policy recommendations which they believe will make schools safer. Unsurprisingly, their list seems to be the same policy ideas being strongly pushed by out-of-state anti-gun organizations across the nation. During the press conference, multiple policies were proposed that would only burden the rights of law-abiding citizens. Those proposed policies included:
- So-called “universal” background checks that would ban the private sale or transfer of firearms in Utah. These measures place undue burden on law-abiding gun owners when criminals, by definition, do not follow such laws. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “universal” background checks “effectiveness depends on…requiring gun registration.”
- Mandatory storage of firearms, whereby the government forces gun owners to keep their firearms locked up at all times in their own home. This proposal has little to do with making anybody safer and everything to do with making it safer to be a criminal. This proposal would be virtually unenforceable and in addition to these concerns, there are also safety concerns to consider. The mandatory use of a locking device can greatly diminish reaction times under duress. Being forced to fumble with a lock and key in a self-defense situation could mean the difference between life and death.
- Imposing waiting periods when purchasing a firearm from a gun store. Waiting periods are an archaic relic from before the digital age, since they were originally meant to give local law enforcement time to complete background checks. These days, background checks are completed almost instantaneously. This proposal seeks to place an arbitrary amount of time on an individual’s ability to acquire a firearm even though they are legally allowed to do so. This sort of legislation can be detrimental to those who are attempting to acquire a firearm for self-defense when it matters most.
- “Red flag” legislation creates a petition by which an individual could have their Second Amendment rights removed, potentially without due process. The NRA believes that those who are a true danger to themselves or others should not have access to weapons of any kind, and should be held for treatment. NRA will oppose any “Red Flag” legislation that does not include strong front-end due process protections for gun owners.
The Utah School Safety Commission is pushing for policies that will do nothing to keep students safe. Instead, they are playing politics with the Second Amendment rights of Utah’s law-abiding gun owners and bowing to out-of-state gun control organizations and their political agenda. Don’t be fooled by this political pandering. Utah gun owners and sportsmen need to remain vigilant and make their opposition to these anti-gun proposals known during the 2018 Elections. Stay-tuned to NRA-ILA Alerts and www.nraila.org for more information and action items regarding these issues.
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