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Killings Trigger New Kind of Gunfight in Utah

Episcopal News Service. May 26, 1999 [99-080]

Jeff Sells, The Rev. Dr. Jeff Sells is editor of The Diocesan Dialogue, the newspaper of the Diocese of Utah.

In its zeal to protect the members of religious communities in the State of Utah, the State Legislature in January passed a statute addressing Utah's closely held right to carry concealed weapons. Churches -- and private homeowners, for that matter -- who feel that their buildings are not places to carry concealed guns are now required to post notices specifically prohibiting people from carrying weapons inside.

"How else are you going to determine who is liable if someone comes in and starts shooting up the place?" said one legislator, explaining the reasoning behind the change in the law.

In response to the new statute, the Diocese of Utah has produced a sign stating that guns are not welcome in its church buildings. Each congregation in the diocese has been asked to put the sign in a visible place on its property, in keeping with the requirements of the new statute.

"I think the State Legislature should feel ashamed that this is going on," said Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish of Utah. "I am greatly saddened that we must put up these signs," Irish said. "It makes [the Legislature] look foolish, and it is very sad indeed."

The context of violence

Earlier this year, Salt Lake City experienced the random killing of a woman in a downtown business and, later, one man's rampage that killed two and wounded several others in the Mormon Family History Library, in downtown Salt Lake, only a few days after the shootings in Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. After all of these events, there has been a groundswell of calls for a special session of the State Legislature to reevaluate weapons laws in the state.

In response to these local violent incidents, representatives from 11 denominations of Salt Lake's religious community met April 24 to draft a resolution regarding firearms and their concealment, purchase, and penalties for infractions. The resolution adopted calls for Governor Michael Leavitt to convene a special legislative session to deal with specific issues related to weapons.

The religious leaders asked that legislators repeal the statute requiring churches to notify people that guns are not welcome there. Their resolution also calls for the designation of a place or places where instruments of violence may be deposited by anyone, with subsequent destruction of the items.

"We understand that there is both hardware and software of violence," said Irish. "The hardware are the guns, but also other instruments of violence. The software could include violent computer games or videos."

And finally, the resolution is a call to action for the religious community to work together on other issues impacting our society as we approach the next millennium.

Congregations in the Diocese of Utah have been asked to present the resolution to their members, offering these congregants the opportunity to support the resolution by signing it as well. They then would pass the signed resolution on to the office of the governor.

Churches are not alone in the paradox of laws in the state. For instance, in Utah it is currently legal to carry a concealed weapon onto school grounds. Some have even advocated the arming of a number of teachers in schools in Utah in order to protect the schools from violence.

Vigil honors victims

On April 29, the religious community organized a vigil on the steps of the State Capitol. With music, prayer and reflection, victims of violence, both gun violence and other kinds, were remembered. During the vigil, which was attended by more than 200, all those who spoke were under the age of 21. Reflections included those of a person who had witnessed shootings in a school last year and others who felt unsafe in schools as a result of the recent shootings.

One woman who attended the vigil carried a picture of her teenaged daughter, killed last fall in a drive-by shooting by someone who thought, mistakenly, that she was a gang member.

Although some people have said the current concern about gun laws is a knee-jerk reaction, Irish pointed out that "we have been concerned with issues of spouse abuse for several years. This is just one more example of the growing threat of violence in our society."

"We are not naïve in Utah," said Irish. "We are aware that strengthening gun control laws, even if all changes that anyone wants are implemented, will not in itself change the trend in violence in our society."

Other areas that need attention in society, she said, include family life, safety in the schools, issues of violence and the media, and renewed commitment to honoring the essential value of every person.