Panel debates requiring Utahns to lock guns away

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SALT LAKE CITY — With school shootings and rising youth suicides in mind, some Utah lawmakers on Wednesday debated requiring gun owners to lock away their weapons.

A proposal that is still being drafted seeks to ensure that "the gun is with the user, in use, or it’s stored safely,” said its sponsor, Rep. Elizabeth Weight, D-West Valley City.

A legislative proposal she is drafting would require gun owners who are not carrying their weapons at the moment to lock them in a case or container, with the safety on, she said Wednesday. Trunks or another storage area in a vehicle would not meet the criteria, she told members of Utah Legislature's Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee. The panel did not discuss possible penalties.

Weight said she believes the proposal will put into law the standards already observed by responsible gun owners. The National Rifle Association, which advises its members to follow such guidelines, opposes writing the practices into Utah's code.

The proposal is in its early stages: No bill has been filed and no draft released. Even so, Weight, a former teacher of more than 30 years, said she wanted to bring her idea to lawmakers during the summer, so teachers and students could weigh in on their time off. Her onetime students increasingly described gun injuries or deaths in their neighborhoods over time, she added.

The bill also would require gun dealers to provide information on the requirement and on possible penalties for violations, she said. She said her proposal follows recommendations from the Utah School Safety Commission.

Deborah Gatrell, a teacher at Granite School District's Hunter High with 19 years' experience in the military, spoke in favor of the proposal.

In the wake of a February school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 and invigorated the national gun debate, Gattrell said, "the anxiety level has gone up significantly at school both with teachers and with students. This is a real problem."

Gattrell said a teacher across the hall from her has started having panic attacks every time the loudspeaker went on. Resource officers also found a student in a classroom near hers at one point had a weapon in his backpack. And her colleagues are talking about finding other jobs or retiring early because of the unease, she said.

Gattrell told the committee that military members can be jailed for a year and receive a bad conduct discharge if they lose a weapon. The proposed legislative move would enforce a "reasonable expectation” that could help address Utah's rising youth suicide rates by removing the weapons from youth, who lack coping skills for some of the challenges they face, she said.

Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, emphasized that other solutions, such as making sure schools have enough social workers, also are needed.

His colleague Rep. Ed Redd, R-Logan, a physician and deputy medical examiner in Cache County, agreed. He said people will continue to face mental health issues and may want to take their lives. But removing or delaying access to guns "is one piece of that solution," he said.

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, questioned how the measure would apply to those with concealed weapons permits. Weight acknowledged those permit holders have more firearm training, and "I want to be honorable to the thinking behind that." Those who are hunting also would not be hindered by the measure when they're in the field and carrying or directly supervising their guns, she said.

Brian Judy, senior state liaison for the National Rifle Association, opposed the measure.

The proposal may be a good idea for a home with children, but it would not be good for a woman living alone, he said. Judy said the proposal "ignores the fact that Utah firearm owners are extremely responsible."

He questioned if the bill would allow for prosecution of parents whose children kill themselves.

Weight said she doesn't want that to happen but noted similar cases already have played out. For example, a West Valley man recently was charged with child-abuse homicide in the death of his 2-year-old son after police said the boy fatally shot himself with his father's gun. Tasman Maile, 28, pleaded guilty to reduced charges last week.

"If that gun had been stored, that 2-year-old wouldn't have found it," Weight said.