The problem with Utah’s recent gun legislation, and other local news
Republicans sponsored and passed approximately a dozen bills concerning firearms during the 2023 legislative session. It would be reasonable to think that legislators are actually doing something to protect Utahns from gun violence. But, these bills will have little or no effect on reducing death and injury from gun violence and could, in fact, increase it.
There are three common faults that underlie each of these pieces of legislation. First, they rely almost entirely on citizens’ voluntary measures that only occasionally address the frequent occurrences of gun violence. Second, they tinker with existing legislation with little effect, while leaving gaping loopholes wide open that would promote public safety. Third, they rely on bad data — or no data at all.
HB226 creates a voluntary process for a private seller to do a background check on a potential buyer. As of October 2022, there were over 4,000 firearms for sale on the Utah Gun Exchange, the vast majority listed by private sellers not required to do a background check. While this bill provides the illusion that the Legislature is protecting Utahns, in reality, it will have little, if any, effect on gun violence.
HB225 requires law enforcement personnel to do a background check before returning to the owner a firearm that was used as evidence, and requires that local law enforcement be notified when a restricted person attempts to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer. This continues to leave in place the gaping loophole that exempts private sales from the background check requirement.
Rep. Ryan Wilcox, chair of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, recently commented that, with good data come good outcomes. We agree with that. But when it comes to firearms legislation, Republicans repeatedly ignore the best data or act without any data. This session, HB107 waived the permitting fee to allow the concealed carry of a firearm by all school employees, including teachers and cafeteria workers. Active-shooter training or instruction on safe concealed carry in the midst of children is not required by Utah law.
The potential for tragedy is obvious.
The rate of gun deaths among U.S. children and teens increased by 50% over the span of two years.
Here’s what we know.
What happened? A Pew Research Center analysis of mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the number of children and teens below the age of 18 who were killed by gun violence between 2019 and 2021 rose from 1,732 to 2,590.
The CDC reported that the total number of teens and children who died from gun violence was “higher than at any point since at least 1999.”
The CDC reported that the most recent year with data on children and teens that sustained “nonfatal gun-related injuries” was 2020 where “there were more than 11,000 emergency-room visits for gunshot injuries among children and teens under the age of 18.”
Pew Research Center further reported that children and teens are more likely to die from gun violence than any other group.
In the Deseret News, Jason Rantz said cities are ignoring violent crime and are not doing enough to apply the laws already in place to stop violence.
Meanwhile, those on the left, including President Joe Biden, have said they want additional restrictions on buying and selling guns. Biden recently directed executive agencies to work to expand background checks, and to address gun theft.
