To the editor:
This morning, July 21, I experienced the terrifying reality of Utah's open carry gun laws.
As I walked my dog along 1400 North in Logan near the Armed Forces Recruiting Center, I noticed a young man standing at the edge of the sidewalk, holding an assault-style rifle. I experienced a paroxysm of fear as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing: "That's a fake rifle. This is a recruiting stunt. What's he doing, run, no, it's OK, he won't shoot you, keep walking, don't look at him."
I quickly walked past him though later it made no sense why I did. Even as I passed, I thought "Is he going to shoot now?" It was a surreal mixture of rational and irrational thoughts.
I hid behind a tree and called 911.The dispatcher told me that the police were aware of the situation, that what he was doing was legal, and an officer would call me back. Anger replaced fear. How insane is our state that what that man was doing is legal? I continued home unnerved by it all.
A police officer did immediately return my call. Quoting from the saved call, I learned: " … a citizen is exercising his right, and volunteering to protect the area there of the recruiting center after one got shot up and people killed elsewhere in the country … he is on public property ... displaying the firearm in the public which he can legally do … we are looking into it further on some other angles or aspects but right now we have nothing to show that his actions are illegal … we made contact with him, and we'll keep an eye on him and we'll hope for the best that he'll keep a level head and so will everybody else."
At noon, Police Chief Gary Jensen called me to follow up. I was appreciative of Chief Jensen's authentic empathy for my experience and his respectful responses and explanations to my questions and concerns.
This situation could have had any number of negative outcomes, depending on who encountered that man and how both parties responded. He's using an unreasoned response to the Chattanooga tragedy. The open-carry gun laws allow him to do so. Our police were hampered in their ability to create an effective solution. The open-carry gun laws ensure that. Gun laws are created by our legislators. We elect our legislators. Think of that the next time you vote for legislators who want to ensure any individual has the unrestricted right to brandish guns in public, for any reason, despite the absolute fear - and potential lethal harm - it creates.