The Dec. 16 column by Robert Gehrke reports that Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson is requiring background checks at all gun shows in county-owned facilities, of which there are two each year.
Gehrke notes that such a move will no doubt trigger a backlash from gun advocates in the state Legislature, who are already accusing Wilson of “violating state law and imposing arbitrary, unwarranted conditions on the use of county facilities based solely on her political views.”Though I’m sure it will have little impact on said legislators, I wish to point out that Wilson’s edict is hardly based on just her personal political views. Rather, there is widespread agreement on this across the political spectrum across the United States.
In the most recent national polling on the subject, 89% of the 1,337 respondents agreed that the gun-show loophole should be closed. Even 71% of Republican respondents were in accord. Thus, Wilson is almost certainly representing the majority view of her constituents, as she should.
Gun advocates in the state Legislature may well prevail anyway, but not because of any pressure from We the People. Rather, it will be the NRA-backed gun lobby, as usual, that’s being served.
Tom Huckin, Salt Lake City