Most Americans say Congress, Trump not doing enough to prevent mass shootings. Trump endorses Romney’s Senate bid. Students organizing rally at Utah Capitol for gun control.
Happy Tuesday. Most Americans say Congress and President Donald Trump are not doing enough to prevent mass shootings, but they lay the blame for the killings on identifying and addressing mental-health issues rather than a lack of gun laws, a new poll shows. [WaPost]
Topping the news: President Donald Trump endorsed Mitt Romney’s Senate run on Monday night. [Trib]
-> Utah high-school students are working to organize a rally at the Capitol next month as part of a national campaign for gun control. [Trib]
-> Utah cities say the outdoor billboard industry, a big donor to Utah lawmakers, is pushing for a bill that would allow it to put up bigger, lighted signs without local approval. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @KPete801: “I love Utah. My entire feed is full of rulers stuck in the snow. ”
-> From @byrdinator: “Are — are there any Republicans who *are* running for re-election in 2018?”
Happy Birthday: To former state Rep. Earl Tanner and state Rep Keven Stratton.
In other news: Rep. Travis Seegmiller, R-St. George, is “drinking from the firehose” as he works to gain his footing at the Utah Legislature, where he serves as a replacement representative for Jon Stanard, who resigned. [Fox13]
-> Utah voters who understand an initiative to change how the state’s voter districts are drawn are twice as likely to support it, according to a poll by The Salt Lake Tribune and University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics. [Trib]
-> People continue to leave the polygamous FLDS Church, prompting the church’s land trust to give away or sell homes at low cost. The land-trust board recently gave homes to two men who were convicted after the 2008 raid on the church. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley portrays Russian “meddling” in the Olympics and the 2016 presidential election. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke urges politicians to be honest about how they feel about acting on America’s gun violence problem. [Trib]
Nationally: Trump spoke to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Friday about Cornyn’s proposed legislation that would improve federal background checks for people buying guns. [NYTimes]
-> Protesters held a “lie-in” outside the White House on Monday to advocate for action on gun violence. [WaPost]
-> Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to express his outrage at the news that the Justice Department indicted 13 Russians on charges of interfering in the 2016 presidential election. [NYTimes]
-> A Republican congressman from Florida announced Monday he will not seek re-election this year, becoming the 28th House Republican to quit politics during this election season. [WaPost]
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Want to sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.
— Thomas Burr and Madalyn Gunnell