I'm a moderately conservative Republican who owns guns. I've owned guns nearly my whole life. Some of my fondest memories come from tramping the fields and marshes hunting waterfowl or pheasants and hiking to the top of Blue Mountain in San Juan County on the opening day of the deer hunt.
I think people ought to be able to own guns, and I'm a staunch defender of that right.
However, I don't believe guns belong in schools. And I also believe that private property owners ought to be able to control whether people bring guns onto their property.
While polls clearly show my beliefs on this issue are mainstream Utah, I realize that I am at odds with some of my conservative brothers and sisters in the Legislature who fervently believe that people with concealed weapons permits should be able to pack their guns nearly anywhere they please.
I don't have a problem with concealed weapons permits. Utah law allows essentially any law-abiding citizen to obtain such a permit, and many thousands have done so. But I do believe there ought to be some restrictions on where you can pack a gun. Schools, for example, ought to be off limits. And if a business owner doesn't want guns on the premises, the business ought to be able to ban them.
This private property issue is very big because presently many large businesses are likely in technical violation of the current law if, for example, they use metal detectors to screen employees and visitors and don't allow people with guns onto their premises.
To me, allowing guns in schools (except for trained law enforcement personnel) is just plain nutty. Mixing loaded weapons with several hundred rambunctious kids in an elementary or junior high school is a recipe for disaster.
Proponents of guns in schools argue that an armed teacher or custodian might just be able to protect children if a bad person tries to harm them. But this is the role of trained school security personnel. Concealed weapons permit holders are not trained in the use of firearms in life-and-death circumstances. In a standoff or a tense situation, the more guns that get pulled out, the scarier it becomes.
And to me it's just common sense that if a teacher, custodian or parent is routinely taking a loaded handgun into a school, the danger of a tragic accident is a thousand times more likely than that concealed weapons permit holder protecting children from some deranged person. That's why Utah educators are almost unanimously against having guns in schools.
Knowing that a teacher or custodian is packing a gun doesn't make me feel my children are safer. It makes me feel they are in danger, and I wouldn't want my child in a class where the teacher carries a gun. Kids are smart. Kids are curious. Kids are irresponsible. Kids are unpredictable. Allowing guns in schools is a tragedy waiting to happen.
Before the last legislative session, the law was a bit unclear whether schools could keep guns out. But in the last session the Legislature passed a law explicitly allowing concealed weapons permit holders to take their guns to school.
I am usually a strong defender of our Republican Legislature. I think that, for the most part, our lawmakers reflect the will of the citizens and they do the right things. In the future, I will continue to defend and support them and their re-election campaigns.
But anyone can make a mistake, even good Republican legislators, and I strongly believe that on this issue they simply went too far and what they did needs to be overturned. I understand that even NRA leaders have made statements saying guns don't belong in schools.
Because it's doubtful that the Legislature will ever reverse itself on this issue (the gun lobby is just too powerful), a bipartisan coalition of citizens has formed an organization called Havens for Learning. The group's goal is to collect enough signatures to put this issue on the general election ballot in November 2004 to allow voters to decide if they want guns in schools and if private property owners ought to be able to keep guns off their premises.
I am a volunteer supporter of Havens for Learning, along with a lot of other Republicans, including former U.S. Sen. Jake Garn.
It will be very difficult, and expensive, to get this issue on the ballot so voters can choose.
With more than 70 percent of Utahns supporting the Havens for Learning position, it would seem the around 80,000 required signatures could be readily gathered. But ballot initiative campaigns are a lot harder than they appear. Previous attempts on this issue have failed. It will require a major statewide organization and a veritable army of volunteers to gather the signatures. Then it will take a sophisticated campaign to get it passed next November. Thousands of Utahns will have to step up and get involved for the effort to be successful.
Want to help or get more information? Send an e-mail message to info@havensforlearning.org.
Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. A new Democratic counterpart will join Webb shortly.