A journalist at the Daily Utah Chronicle decided to opine on the event a few months ago in which a teaching assistant decreed that armed students had to stand in a segregated “Second Amendment Zone.” That student was relieved of responsibilities; however, there are some Utahans who think she had a point:
“Our response to gun violence has become a toxic routine — shock, mourning, occasional vows to change, and then, after the dust has barely settled, we return to an untenable status quo. The graduate student was willing to address Utah’s toxic gun culture directly, beyond the whiplash of the news cycle. Their methods were confrontational, but it is past time to be brutally honest about our cultural obsession with guns. An educational setting is a perfect opportunity to examine and challenge existing paradigms. Installing a “second amendment zone” was extreme and unnecessary, but so are Utah’s current concealed carry laws. Our legislators need to protect their constituents by enacting common-sense gun legislation. If they refuse to do their jobs, I suggest sending them to a 3×3 taped square on the Senate floor.” (Josh Petersen, A ‘Second Amendment Zone’ is Ridiculous. So are Concealed Carry Laws., The Daily Utah Chronicle)
Mr. Petersen also called Utah gun laws “remarkably loose” (even though concealed carry requires a permit) and said the aforementioned TA’s “willingness to question and confront Utah’s gun culture is sorely needed.”