Guerrilla Games
It's curious how the Second Amendment has become a rallying call for assault weapons—something the honorable Founders never imagined. And yet, every small effort to regulate gun ownership is met with the hysterical cry that "liberals" are trying to take away guns. It's not surprising then that the Weber County Commission saw fit to join Utah, Uintah and Wayne counties in declaring themselves "Second Amendment Sanctuaries." Apparently, it's all about "the safety, health, morals and welfare of Weber County inhabitants," The Salt Lake Tribune quoted Weber County Commission Chair Jim Harvey as saying. That's not how Elisabeth Rosenthal sees it. The editor of Kaiser Health News, writing in The Washington Post, shot her first pistol at 8 or 9 and later won numerous medals from the National Rifle Association. Americans now own some 20 million AR-15-style weapons. "The adrenaline in today's gun culture clearly lies in paramilitary posturing, signaling to the world the ability to bring mayhem and destruction," she writes. These are not your mother's bedside pistol.
Where Are the Women?
Well, Utah is trying—sort of. The lieutenant governor, Deidre Henderson, recognizes that women bore the brunt of job losses during the pandemic and, as such, is launching a "returnship" program to help them out. Women actually lost twice as many jobs as men, according to an upbeat and positive Salt Lake Tribune article. But that doesn't excuse the fact that Utah still has the second worst pay gap in the nation and that while women often work in lower paying jobs, those jobs still make 30 percent less than men. While there are many reasons—including motherhood and the predominant male-centric culture in Utah—equality should always be the goal. And that begs the question why Utah refuses to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. There's a meme going around that says men fear the ERA because they figure women will govern the way men do—and they don't like that.
GOP Fear-mongering
Ben McAdams might want to start with Rep. Burgess Owens in his quest to combat lies. And The Salt Lake Tribune might have thought better of a front-page headline that read: Owens: "Migrants coming to your neighborhood." Maybe it was to grab your attention, but you know how people read the news—not much, and headlines may be their only source. Turns out, of course, that Owens was wrong (albeit consistent) in his fear-mongering of a mythical enemy that is either communistic or criminal. Utahns who voted for the congressman apparently respond to this garbage and are hunkering in their homes awaiting the onslaught of the undocumented. So, McAdams has joined some other losing Democrats to advise Shield PAC in their efforts against accusations that all liberals are socialists.
