I take strong exception to the Feb. 28 editorial in the Deseret News, "Gun control now up to voters." Especially galling is the statement, "It's probably best that this hot potato go directly to the voters."
The average citizen does not understand the concealed carry issue and will respond superficially to anti-gun slogans to ban concealed weapons in schools. It is only on further probing of the subject that the logic of the pro-concealed carry viewpoint is understood. The Legislature, however, does understand the issue, and it is there where the decision should be made.I have personal friends who have emotional knee-jerk reactions to slogans like "No guns in schools." But once I explain the logic of maintaining the current concealed weapon policy, they agree with me.
We cannot afford to have First Amendment issues decided by an emotional and largely uninformed general public any more than we can have the general public deciding guilt or innocence in court cases by only hearing part of the testimony. Deseret News editors, how is it possible that you cannot see this? What percentage of the required 67,000 signatories can accurately explain both sides of the issue? Maybe the editors should find out.
Patrick Abernathy
St. George