I have been a registered voter since 2006, and I have never affiliated with a party. I have found that people too often side with their party more than they side with their conscience, and I don't want to fall into that trap, even inadvertently.
I had never been to a caucus before. (I tried to go to the Democratic caucus in 2016, but it was too crowded.) But this week I attended the caucus for a new party, United Utah. I could have gone to the democratic one, which would have been closer, but I wanted to learn more about the new party. (I couldn't go to the Republican one since I'm not a registered Republican.)
Basically, the United Utah Party is formed for people who are fed up with the extremism of both sides of the political aisle. It seeks to find middle ground. I find myself generally agreeing with the party's platform--not necessarily with everything, but I agree in general. I don't know that I'll officially align myself with it, but I appreciate what they're doing.
I went to the caucus but didn't do anything. I guess that doesn't make a difference. But I am now telling you about it, and awareness is one of the key factors to gain momentum. About three times as many people showed up to the party's caucus as they expected; and the one I attended got a picture on KSL.com.
One of the platform items of the party is "Endorsing the right of Utahns to possess firearms, as well as regulations that limit firearm possession in the hands of those who would use them irresponsibly." I can really sink my teeth into this one.
I am so utterly sick of the argument, "If you take away our guns, then only the bad guys will have them." It's a true statement. It's also an irrelevant strawman. Those of us who want to reform gun laws don't want to get rid of all guns. We just want to keep them away from the bad guys. Is that so hard to understand? The other day my dad was listening to conservative talk radio, and there was a soundbite from Rush Limbaugh saying, "Every liberal on the planet wants to take away our weapons." (That's not a direct quote, so don't Google it.) That is a big fat lie. It is entirely dishonest, irresponsible, and reckless for him to make such a statement. I hope he gets a permanent case of laryngitis and can never go on the radio again until he only tells the truth.
Here are some of the perspectives and rationale of those of us who want tougher gun laws.
- As I just said, we're not trying to take away guns, so quit saying we are.
- We're not trying to get rid of the Second Amendment. As a matter of fact, the Second Amendment says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." So by adding regulations, we are actually doing a better job of complying with the Second Amendment. You cannot interpret the Second Amendment as meaning "there should be no gun laws."
- What reason do you have for owning a gun that is specifically meant to kill lots of people in a short amount of time?
- Background checks are performed in retail, but there are plenty of loopholes for other venues. We want to close those loopholes. And if you can pass a background check, guess what? You can get a gun! And why do you need to get your gun right away? What's the matter with a waiting period? If some deranged person wants a gun to kill people, it's unsafe for them to have it immediately. If you want a gun for peaceful, responsible purposes, it can wait.
- Yes, criminals will still get a hold of guns, but that doesn't mean we should make it easy for them. They say that "the answer to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." But wouldn't it make sense to try to make it so only the good guys have guns in the first place?
- Yes, criminals can kill with other means, such as knives or bombs. But you can't fatally throw knives at fifty people in just a few minutes, and bombs are much less accessible than guns.
- We don't have a perfect solution. But that doesn't mean we should just keep the status quo, because obviously that's not working.
- Yes, we need better treatment for mental health. But mental treatment and tougher gun laws are not mutually exclusive. We can have both.
- A few years ago, a dear friend of mine made a post deriding comments made by Obama about enacting tougher gun laws. She deleted it before I could respond, but at the end of her post, she said, "Prayer IS enough, Mr. Obama!" Sorry, but I think God would disagree. Are we not taught that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20)? David A. Bednar has said, "Meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work. Blessings require some effort on our part before we can obtain them."
So, because of all this, for the first time in my life, I participated in a political rally. And my mom, a teacher, wanted to come too.
Yesterday, March 24, 2018, I drove up to the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, dropped my mom off, and went and found a wonderful parking spot on the street. I joined her, carrying a poster that read, "If you can pass a background check, why would you object to one?" I wanted to be very early, so there weren't very many people there at first. A few people told me they loved my sign, and one woman even took pictures. (So there's probably a random picture of me floating on the internet somewhere.) One of the pro-gun folks was walking around and became quite agitated, telling some of the other supporters, "You don't know what you're talking about!" (I'm a little hesitant to use the expression "pro-gun," because it's not like the rest of us are anti-gun, but it's the best I can come up with for now.)
Before the main March for Our Lives event, there was a smaller pro-gun rally. We watched them as they marched up to the capitol, wearing black shirts and carrying signs such as "Criminals ♥️ Gun Control." I admit I was a little scared, because I don't like confrontation, but these are confrontational people who like guns! I was pretty annoyed that they stole the slogan "March for Our Lives" for their own t-shirts. Their official rally was on the north side of the Capitol, but they did pass through the south side, where we were. As they walked past, someone in their group called out in my direction, "Background checks are great, but we already have them! Do your research!" Soon, another man came up in a confrontational style and basically told me the same thing and asked me what I wanted. I told him I knew there were loopholes to background checks, and I wanted to close those loopholes. He just wanted to argue, but he left. Later, a very friendly man came up and said, "Can I answer your question?" He said that he was concerned that having a gun registry would make it easier for the government to come and take his gun. His friend dragged him away before I could tell him I thought his fear was unfounded, but I did thank him for being respectful.
People with opinions similar to ours began to trickle in on the capitol grounds. My mom even got a sign for our yard saying "Enough!" A few people had irrelevantly vulgar signs, but most of the signs were poignant and sometimes witty.
Before noon, the main march made its way up State Street. And they kept coming and coming and coming. I didn't like all the signs; some of them were more politically polarizing (when this is neither a blue nor a red issue), and out of several thousand, one or two missed the memo that we don't want to take away guns. The high school students filed on the front steps of the building, while we supporters stood around. They had various speeches from different students. I didn't like a lot of them--they were polarizing, vulgar, and sometimes irrelevant. But some of the speeches were fantastic--logical, well researched, invigorating. It felt great to be part of this cause.
Before the main March for Our Lives event, there was a smaller pro-gun rally. We watched them as they marched up to the capitol, wearing black shirts and carrying signs such as "Criminals ♥️ Gun Control." I admit I was a little scared, because I don't like confrontation, but these are confrontational people who like guns! I was pretty annoyed that they stole the slogan "March for Our Lives" for their own t-shirts. Their official rally was on the north side of the Capitol, but they did pass through the south side, where we were. As they walked past, someone in their group called out in my direction, "Background checks are great, but we already have them! Do your research!" Soon, another man came up in a confrontational style and basically told me the same thing and asked me what I wanted. I told him I knew there were loopholes to background checks, and I wanted to close those loopholes. He just wanted to argue, but he left. Later, a very friendly man came up and said, "Can I answer your question?" He said that he was concerned that having a gun registry would make it easier for the government to come and take his gun. His friend dragged him away before I could tell him I thought his fear was unfounded, but I did thank him for being respectful.
People with opinions similar to ours began to trickle in on the capitol grounds. My mom even got a sign for our yard saying "Enough!" A few people had irrelevantly vulgar signs, but most of the signs were poignant and sometimes witty.
Before noon, the main march made its way up State Street. And they kept coming and coming and coming. I didn't like all the signs; some of them were more politically polarizing (when this is neither a blue nor a red issue), and out of several thousand, one or two missed the memo that we don't want to take away guns. The high school students filed on the front steps of the building, while we supporters stood around. They had various speeches from different students. I didn't like a lot of them--they were polarizing, vulgar, and sometimes irrelevant. But some of the speeches were fantastic--logical, well researched, invigorating. It felt great to be part of this cause.
I can't help but wonder if my being there actually did anything. But at the very least, by participating in the march and telling you about it, I think it will get you thinking. I hope that you guys find me a rational, kind human being, right? We actually have much in common. I can go to a performance of Handel's Messiah one night, be in a gun-control rally the next morning, and looking at baby animals the following afternoon.
And if I can sway just one person, I have done my job.
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