This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Gun plan a tough sell for Utah lawmakers" (Tribune, Jan. 17):
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he would give President Barack Obama's gun "proposals the attention that they rightly deserve. However, I will not support any proposal that violates the Second Amendment."
It is important to recall that in 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller held, "Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. … For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment. … The Court's opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.
"Miller's holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those 'in common use at the time' finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons," and that an individual's right to keep and bear did not extend to "weapons that were not specifically designed for military use and were not employed in a military capacity."
Tab L. Uno
Clearfield