The Deseret News published an editorial on July 8, 1999, in the "In Our Opinion" column telling the Utah State Legislature to "deal with gun issue in fall session." This came after a proposal to shift the responsibility from the lawmakers to the public by introducing a referendum for the ballot.
I have a few questions for the Deseret News and anyone else who may be in favor of passing another law restricting where guns can be taken. The Deseret News calls it "the meat-and-potatoes issue": guns in the schools.First, how is the law to be enforced? In the case of guns in schools, will there be metal detectors and officers at the entrances to detect the presence of guns being carried by those entering a school? Will the law pertain just to school buildings or will school grounds also be included in the ban?
If so, will there be tall fences erected around our schools with metal detectors and officers at the gates? Will the fences be tall enough so that a person could not throw a gun over a fence to an accomplice on the other side? How is the added protection to be paid for?
Has the Deseret News thought of how the law should be enforced, or doesn't it care if the law is enforced or not? There are already laws against the possession of handguns by minors. Isn't this enough for the Deseret News?
Who else does the Deseret News want to control? Teachers? Administrators? Parents? What would be the benefit of another law that would not be enforced without making schools lockups? Lobbying for a law without providing a suggested means for its enforcement is irresponsible.
Second, the Deseret News repeatedly refers to a Deseret News poll taken earlier this year that showed that 90 percent of all Utahns believe all weapons should be banned from public schools. My question is, what was the exact wording of the questions in that poll. How many people were contacted? What were the criteria for determining the profile of who would be called?
I am a Utahn, but I was not called for my opinion. The Deseret News seems to favor a Legislature that would pass a measure banning guns in schools based on the results of the Deseret News' poll of questionable content and scope.
My third question has to do with the Deseret News editorial's recommendation for the Legislature in a special session of Congress this fall: "All the Legislature has to do is do what it should have done the past two years