Letter: Utah's descent into gun culture

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Foreign and domestic gun manufactures own the National Rifle Association and the Republican Party, and the United States now has over half the private guns in the world. The result should come as no surprise: 100,000 dead and wounded every year. What a pitiful excuse for a democracy when it fails to provide safety for its citizens, thanks to the GOP awash in gun money.

Where are the cries from religious leaders? There are many, but from Mormons the silence is deafening, even with Utah the flagship state for the NRA.

More young men in Utah die from guns than auto accidents, while too many Mormons have assault rifles to defend their year's supply of food. Utah is also one of two states that allows guns in schools, churches and on college campuses.

LDS leaders need to step out of their metaphysical world and observe their state descending into the kingdom of guns in a poisoned land, with the GOP/tea party hustling the dogmas of Ayn Rand, the anti-christ. Ignore your neighbor? Stiff the poor? Flip-off the community? And love yourself unconditionally? Does the church want this kind of reputation? Including Cliven Bundy?

Ron Molen

Salt Lake City