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SALT LAKE CITY — A controversial bill intended to bar federal gun laws from being enforced in Utah was held by the House Judiciary Committee on Friday after a second day of hearings.
Public testimony was taken on HB114, sponsored by Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, but the committee's vice chairman, Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, said there wasn't enough time left to take a vote.
Perry said the bill is now "stuck in limbo" and that it is up to the chairman of the committee, Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield, to decide what happens next. McIff did not attend Friday's committee meeting.
On Wednesday, both proponents and opponents of the bill were turned away for a similar reason. Many came back despite a snowstorm Friday to be heard, lining up against the walls of the crowded committee room to speak.
Kyle Crozier, of West Valley City, who had been escorted back to his seat by Utah Highway Patrol troopers at Wednesday's hearing after demanding an opportunity to testify, told the committee Friday that guns are merely tools.
"A hammer can be used to create malicious acts," Crozier said. "After a few shootings, the government is pushing to disarm us."
He said he and others were asking for "the tools to defend ourselves" against the federal government.
Jean Hill of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, one of a handful of opponents who addressed the committee, questioned the constitutionality of the bill and said the money that would be needed to defend it could be better spent to help the needy.
"To waste the money on this … just goes against everything we stand for as a state," Hill said.
But a supporter of the bill, Connor Boyack, a self-described "liberty advocate," said the issues about the bill's constitutionality raised by legislative staff in a note attached to the bill represent only one opinion.
"Why not allocate money to fight for the right to keep and bear arms?" Boyack asked. "I can think of no better use for tax money."
Another supporter, Stephanie Kearns of South Salt Lake, said the bill should not have been amended by the committee Wednesday to remove the felony penalties against authorities who enforce federal gun laws.
"I think if you're going to break the law, you should be held accountable," Kearns said.
The committee, which took testimony on the bill for about 45 minutes, did not discuss the bill Friday before adjourning shortly before the start of the House floor session at 10 a.m.
In another hearing on gun-related legislation Friday, the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Standing Committee unanimously passed HB287, sponsored by Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem.
The bill allows law enforcement agencies to return confiscated firearms to their legal owner, providing the owner gives a sworn declaration of legal ownership. Under current law, law enforcement agencies are required to dispose of any confiscated weapons.
"I know of many people who have not been able to get their weapons back," said Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, noting the bill was a step in the right direction.
Contributing: Mary Mellor
Email:lroche@ksl.com
