At risk of guns | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

I was disappointed by the failure of the Utah Senate to pass SB71, which would have sought $10 million from private investors to strengthen and expand high quality preschool programs for at-risk children ("Utah lawmakers kill preschool bill for at-risk children," Tribune March 6).

Upon studying the course of this legislative session, I can find only one logical reason why it didn't pass — it failed to mention guns. If bill sponsor Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, wanted the bill to pass he should have simply included a provision that early childhood educators must conceal carry a firearm in the classroom.

Perhaps they could have even incorporated gun education into the curriculum. Because if there's one thing at-risk children need to learn about early, it's guns.

Matthew Chilcote

Salt Lake City