Details on Numbers

July 18, 1999

Gun control will be the topic of debate when and if the legislature meets in a special session. But whether it will is still up in the air.

According to a recent KSL poll, most people think it should, in spite of what lawmakers think. Politial specialist Richard Piatt has more.

If Utah's gun laws are to change, that change would start in the legislature. Lawmakers will decide this week if and how any debate will even happen.

But if it were up to the 411 people in our poll, it would. Especially when it comes to dealing with the issue of guns in schools.

The vast majority of the registered voters, 62 per cent, say they'd like to see lawmakers meet to craft such legislation.

And 68 per cent say they'd like to see a new law banning all guns from public schools.

For Utah's PTA, these results seem to reflect what they've been telling lawmakers.

Cheryl Shiflett, the Utah PTA safety commissioner says, "We are totally for the protection of children, and we believe that guns have no place in schools."

Utah's PTA plans on starting a petition to put the issue to a public vote.

78 per cent of those in the poll say they'd vote for a ban on guns in schools, if it *was put to a vote. The PTA plans on ciculating petitions this week, hoping that a direct voice from the public will change the laws.

But public opinion is not what Utah House Speaker Marty Stephens says will drive any change at the State Capitol.

"The easy way out for the legislature is to say, 'Oh, 80, 90 percent of the public wants this, so let's just do this and they'll think we've solved the problem.' And that takes us off the hot seat. But that's not the intellectually honest thing to do," Stephens says.

Stephens says lawmakers are studying gun violence.

Those studies include denying permits to those convicted of violent misdemeanors. 79-per cent of the people in our poll say they think such a change should take place.

The vast majority of those responding also think there should be a registry, or a list of people who mental health professionals think could pose harm to themselves or others. The list would prohibit such people from buying a gun.

Even if there is no special session this year, gun control issues will clearly be a topic on Capitol Hill for regular sessions to come.

Lawmakers expect to have specific ideas on gun control issues after interim committee meetings July 21.