This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rep. Curt Oda states that he knows white-collar convicted felons who have sadly missed many years of hunting trips with their families because they have (rightfully) lost their gun rights ("Bill would allow white-collar felons to keep guns," Tribune, Feb. 7).
Since when must you own or handle a gun to participate in a family hunting excursion? I didn't know that not being allowed to handle a firearm interfered with one's ability to drive, hike, camp, eat, sleep, socialize, cook, point at a deer, haul a dead deer, etc. When it comes to family hunting trips, a convicted felon is denied only the activities related to owning, handling and shooting a weapon.
To choose not to participate in the many other activities involved in a family hunting trip must mean that the apparently magnetic draw of hand to metal is a temptation that is simply too powerful to resist (just as stealing money was)!
Cindy Cannon
Salt Lake City