Commentary: How do reasonable people become gun zealots?

The 2019 Utah legislative session, dominated by LDS Republicans, was a stunning exhibit of Mormon values simply forgotten. Dismissed. The honest, otherwise decent legislators are probably good husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and loyal members of their faith. Yet it is shocking to observe the spectacular metamorphosis that occurs when they have to address a gun issue. Suddenly they become rabid, myopic disciples of the NRA, spouting the same old fears about the slippery slope to gun confiscation. Where did these people go to Sunday school? What about the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount? How can responsible citizens trust GOP legislators when every one of them got an A grade from the NRA? This seems more like a cabal than a political party. The mindless, permissive gun laws demanded by the NRA have produced a gun violence epidemic in which gun rights trump human life. How can patriotic Americans support an anti-government, seditious NRA that promises revolution if the government doesn't comply with its outrageous demands? GOP-NRA policies focus on the few gun addicts who need a gun available 24/7, not the responsible gun owners willing to accept regulations that save lives. The problem is the majority of citizens is essentially being held hostage by policies demanded by a small minority. Polls show that most citizens feel vulnerable to gun violence and prefer greater regulation. Authentic democracy honors the will of the majority. There were three other bills, as innocuous as the six mentioned above, which couldn’t possibly offend anyone with common decency and common sense. Yet they were rejected easily by the GOP-NRA cabal. Colorado and Nevada, neighboring states steeped in the cowboy tradition, broke the NRA stranglehold by passing universal background checks. The Utah GOP did, however, pass the Stand Your Ground Bill, another permissive law

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