Mayor Rocky Anderson believes that this trifling penalty sends the wrong message. It says that Utah does not take this crime seriously. Salt Lake City's top gun has fired off a letter to the Legislature, urging state lawmakers to make it a felony for a minor to possess a dangerous weapon illegally.
We agree with the mayor that too many kids are packing illegal heat these days, and that if they are caught, the punishment should be serious. Guns are not toys. In the wrong hands, they can maim and kill. And young men are not known for their mature judgment.
Gangbangers should know that if they carry a gun, they are risking a felony and incarceration.
It is illegal under Utah law for any minor under 18 years of age to possess a handgun, but the punishment for a first offense is a class B misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is six months in jail. For a second offense, the penalty is a class A misdemeanor. Only if the kid carries a sawed-off long gun or a fully automatic weapon is he guilty of a felony.
The mayor believes, rightly, that any handgun possession should be a felony.
The law makes accommodation for kids who are hunting. It allows minors under 18 to possess dangerous weapons if they have their parents' permission or they are accompanied by a parent. A minor under 14 can only have a dangerous weapon if he is accompanied by a responsible adult.
The mayor's letter was prompted by a shooting last month in Liberty Park in which a 14-year-old fired into a crowd, wounding an 18-year-old in the back. A 17-year-old allegedly handed the shooter the gun.
The police department reports that in the year ended June 30, “there were 645 minors involved as suspects, victims or witnesses in incidents in which a firearm was used illegally,” according to Anderson's letter. During the same period the police arrested 102 juveniles for gun-related crimes, and “those among this group who were in illegal possession of a gun for the first time were charged with a class B misdemeanor.”
When more than 100 kids are arrested for gun crimes in a single year, that's not a problem, it's an epidemic.
The mayor also argues that people who provide minors with guns and parents who know that their children are packing guns but don't do anything about it also should be charged with felonies. Again, we agree. Like a drug pusher, the person who provides a weapon to a kid illegally should pay a heavy price. Often, that person is another member of a gang.
The message should be clear. If you do the crime, expect to do some time. Hard time.
