This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Syracuse • The City Council in this Davis County city has approved a resolution "wholeheartedly" upholding the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
The resolution, requested by council members Craig Johnson and Karianne Lisonbee, passed 5-0 late Tuesday night.
The Syracuse City Council resolution asks local, state and national officials to engage in "responsible dialogue" on gun rights and criminal violence; encourages responsible gun ownership; and says the city supports legislation that does not ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and protects the open and concealed carry of firearms.
It supports the position taken by the Utah Sheriffs' Association and Davis County Sheriff Todd Richardson in a January letter to President Barack Obama, which said the elected county law enforcement officials were "prepared to trade our lives" in defense of the Second Amendment.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder was the only sheriff in the state who did not sign the letter.
The resolution also notes that the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut has ignited passionate debate about firearms and that Richardson held a town forum on gun control in January.
In making a motion to approve the resolution, Johnson amended it by taking out one paragraph from the list of reasons for the declaration. That paragraph said, "Whereas on January 16, 2013, President Barack Obama introduced a plan to reduce gun violence that proposed four steps to be taken through Congressional and Executive action: closing background check loopholes, banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, making schools safer, and increasing access to mental health services."
Johnson — noting that a speaker had objected during a public comment period at the beginning of Tuesday's meeting to that sentence — said he removed it because it was a source of contention. Councilman Brian Duncan supported the change.
"I don't think he introduced that bill to reduce gun violence," Duncan said of the president. "I think he introduced that bill to take guns out of the hands of citizens, and that's the excuse."
The resolution will be sent to Obama, Utah's congressional delegation, the governor, the attorney general, state legislators representing Davis County, the Utah Association of Counties, the Utah League of Cities and Towns and Richardson.
Visit bit.ly/13Srwmq to read the resolution, which begins on page 100.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC Visit bit.ly/13Srwmq to read the resolution, which begins on page 100.