People openly carried guns, even assault rifles, to the recent gun rally at the Capitol. The reason for brandishing guns is hard to fathom. The purpose for holding a rally is to make a statement, a democratic way of clarifying a group’s position on an issue. The question, then, to the armed participants is: What exactly did you have in mind? What is the unarmed citizen to think? Are the guns meant to intimidate, to bully the majority? That’s not democracy, that’s fascism.
Ninety percent of Utahns want a universal background check for all gun sales. The goal is to keep guns out of dangerous hands, resulting in lives saved. The law does not conflict with the recent Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment and the majority of responsible gun owners agrees with it. Citizens must wonder how many in your group are even interested in saving lives and how many could pass a background check.
People want a safe environment for themselves and their children. That's a family value.
You succeeded in scaring the hell out of everyone else, but you also proved that you are totally unqualified to influence gun policy in a democratic society. As soon as a gun is present, the debate stops and the gun controls the discussion.
We have an epidemic of gun violence that kills more people than the coronavirus in China, and you have no right to insist we allow the killing to continue. The NRA and gun manufacturers have controlled the gun issue far too long and the result has been more people killed than the deaths in all this nation's wars.
You have a Second Amendment right to have a gun in the home for self defense and that's where your gun should remain for a rally.
Ron Molen, Salt Lake City
