by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Lawmakers of the State of Utah are debating whether to designate a semiautomatic pistol as the official gun of Utah, despite protests from people who believe it's inappropriate because of recent mass shootings.
Republican Rep. Carl Wimmer said the state should have the gun as one of its state symbols to honor John Browning, a Utah native who invented it in 1911. He defended the idea by saying that Browing invented a firearm that has defended American values and the traditions of this country for 100 years. Who could argue with that?
Utah has 24 state symbols recognizing the history, geography and culture of the state. They include a state cooking pot, a state tree, a state hymn and a state folk dance and the committee approved the bill to add a state gun on a 9-2 vote.
Wimmer said the Browning M1911 is widely used by the military, police officers and private citizens, which is why he chose the pistol instead of another Browning gun. And it was the standard sidearm of the United States Army in both World Wars and still in the Vietnam era.
I personally carried a 1911 in preference even when the Beretta had become the official issue sidearm and I would give the 1911 preference always. While it may not have the ammunition capacity of the Beretta and others, as in magazine capacity, the .45 ACP is superior in all things to the 9mm Parabellum.
Gun Violence Prevention Center board member Steve Gunn told the media that honoring the M1911 is wrong because the people who opened fire in most recent U.S. mass shootings used semiautomatic pistols. That includes the shooting of January 8, 2011, in Arizona where six people were killed and 13 – including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords – were wounded, though with a Glock pistol.
The likes of Steve Gunn have no idea, it would appear, as to what they are talking about. It is not guns that kill but the person pulling the trigger. If it is not a gun then those people will use a knife, a hammer, or a brick or iron bar. Though I can see the likes of him trying to ban all those things too.
“There is nothing about the actions of a madman,” said Rep. Wimmer, “to change the fact that firearms have been used throughout our history to defend American values and traditions.”
One might also add that had others in the crowd in Tuscon that day been armed with a pistol and been prepared to use it then maybe, just maybe, the perpetrator would not have killed other innocent people but would have been one of the only casualties himself.
While some legislators oppose the idea of honoring Browning via his firearm by designating the 1911 as Utah's state gun others see things rather differently.
Republican Rep. Stephen Sandstrom told the committee that recognizing the M1911 is an appropriate honor for Browning. Instead of the gun being blamed for killing people, it should be credited for saving lives on the battlefield, Sandstrom said.
“Tragic events happen because of bad people in this world. But handguns, and firearms in general, do not kill people,” Sandstrom said. “We need to stop demonizing firearms.”
In the same line as what Rep. Sandstrom says I say again that guns do not kill people, it is people that kill people and if they don't have access to guns they will use something else. Stone age man used rocks and in many cases today a rock still is the murder weapon. Therefore I propose that we ban all rocks.
The bill to designate a state firearm is H.B. 219.
© 2011
