Utah's three House members went three separate directions Thursday on votes over gun control and abortion rights.
Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, sided with liberals in both votes. Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, went with conservatives. And Rep. Bill Orton, D-Utah, went with conservatives on gun control and with liberals on restricting protests at abortion clinics.Liberals won both votes. By 216-214 - after Democratic leaders delayed closing a vote when conservatives were ahead, and Democrats later changed votes to bring the win - the House approved a bill designed to ban 19 semiautomatic assault weapons.
Later on a 241-174 vote, the House passed a bill to make it a federal crime to use force or threaten force to injure, intimidate or block anyone trying to enter an abortion clinic.
Shepherd said she voted for the gun ban because "my constituents don't think we need these military-style weapons in Utah. Make no mistake, these guns serve no other purpose than to kill people, and it's time to take them off the street."
Hansen and Orton disagreed. Orton said many hunters use semiautomatic weapons and little difference between them and the banned guns exist besides looks. He's worried that the wording could ban sports guns.
Orton said, "You should punish people committing crimes, not the guns. If someone causes a traffic accident, you don't punish the car."
Hansen added, "I support increased sentencing and true punishment for those who blatantly threaten or take another's life with a gun."
Orton also said, "Criminals would still be able to get guns through the black market. All this does is make life more difficult for law-abiding people."
Hansen said he doesn't think the ban "will do one thing to curb violence on our streets."
On the access-to-abortion-clinics bill, Hansen said he feels it infringes on the First Amendment freedom of speech for pro-life protesters. "I support the Constitution," he said.
But Orton and Shepherd said they feel violence has gotten out of hand at clinics in too many states and steps are needed to stop it.
"I'm troubled. It's a close call," Orton said. "But I don't feel that setting restrictions on such things as distance from a clinic . . . infringe on freedom of speech."
Shepherd said the bill is needed "because violence has gotten to be such a problem." She added, "I am proud that we haven't had such problems in Utah."