Letter: If assisted suicide is manslaughter, when will the various gun providers be charged?
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Michelle Camp loads guns during a training session at the Gun Vault in South Jordan. Camp is the state leader of The Well-Armed Woman of Utah, Jordan Valley chapter where women with concealed carry permits meet once a month. Of the concealed carry permits issued by the state, only about one in five is held by a woman.
I did not realize that Utah, as well as the country, is pro-assisted suicide. In Utah, suicides account for 86 percent of gun deaths (Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition.) This form of assisted suicide is effective; 90 percent of people attempting suicide with a firearm are successful, whereas 90 percent of people who try other means survive and are less likely to try again (Everytown for Gun Safety.)
The Utah Legislature has recently made assisted suicide a “crime of manslaughter” that applies to those who are “intentionally and knowingly providing another with the physical means to commit suicide.”
Many people “knowingly and intentionally” provide or allow access to firearms. Examples include the NRA, gun manufacturers, gun stores, Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch, Reps. Mia Love, Rob Bishop, John Curtis and Chris Stewart and the many local elected officials.
When will these people be charged with manslaughter for the role they play in assisted suicides?
Charlotte Maloney, Millcreek
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