Gun-friendly Utah is surprisingly queasy when it comes to the kinds of paper targets shooters are allowed to use on state-owned ranges. Well, one state agency is, anyway. Now a Beehive State legislator wants to know why. “’The range belongs to the people,’ Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, said. ‘We need to make sure that people are not restricted in their use because of an overstep of authority.'” Or an overabundance of political correctness . . .
It is not against state law for human form targets to be used inside the gun-friendly Beehive State, but Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources has had an unwritten policy in place that the targets are not to be used by the general public at the ranges. The human silhouette targets are allowed if the range is being rented out by a police force or a concealed weapons training class.
Just to be clear, it’s OK for cops to practice using targets that represent what they’ll most likely find themselves shooting at, but it’s somehow beyond the pale for Jane and Joe Schmoe to do the same when training to protect themselves and their families. OK, then.
Representatives with DWR explained that the ranges’ primary purposes are to promote hunter safety and that human form targets are not used in those courses as they felt the targets would be counterproductive to the course. DWR said they were open to discussion on finding a way for those who want to take aim at something other than a bullseye.
“Counterproductive,” huh? It all becomes a little clearer, doesn’t it? DWR’s bought into that whole ‘sporting purpose‘ thing. Next thing you know, they’ll prohibit, uh, assault rifles. Or as they’d probably call them, “terrorist rifles.”