Gun activist encourages political involvement
The president of Gun Owners of Utah spoke to six students Thursday evening about how to become politically involved in ways that will ensure their gun rights are protected.
Bill Clayton said the most politically influential action a person can take is to become a party delegate at either the district or state level.
“Your voice will carry a lot more clout if you are a delegate,” Clayton said. “When you contact your state legislator, for example, and you tell him you’re a county delegate, he will listen a lot more seriously than if you are just Joe random voter because he knows he needs your vote at the convention if he wants the nomination.”
Craig Huntzinger, president of Students of the Second Amendment, said the reason Clayton was invited this week was because of the party caucuses being held next Tuesday where delegates will be chosen. He said his hope was to help people become more aware of the role they can play in protecting their rights, including that to bear arms. He said choosing leaders who will stand up for the Second Amendment will mean choosing leaders that will protect other rights, too.
“If someone doesn’t recognize a person’s legal right to protect themselves, do you think they’re going to care about your property rights or how your children are educated?” Huntzinger asked.
He also said the Second Amendment issue is one that is a good indicator of where a politician stands on other issues, and those that vote pro-gun tend to vote for bigger government in other areas as well.
Clayton said the main tactic of Gun Owners of Utah is to “spread the word” about who is voting for what when it comes to gun rights, saying that many politicians will espouse pro-gun views but vote contrary to them. Clayton said Gun Owners of Utah helps to spread alerts to people informing them of which candidates are voting against gun rights.
This is important, Clayton said, because he estimates that pro-gun activists outnumber anti-gun activists 10 to 1 in Utah.
“[Legislators] have learned that if they vote against our rights, we will hurt them. We will cause them pain and embarrassment,” Clayton said. “That is why the Legislature tends to vote our way.”
The main idea is to let politicians know the decisions they are making are being watched, Clayton said, and that can be achieved by voting, writing and contacting legislators, and becoming a party delegate.
Clayton also said that while faxes and actual letters tend to be more effective than e-mails, letters “shouldn’t try to convert” the representative but merely let them know which side of the issue should be voted for.
Cameron Phipps, a senior majoring in pre-med, said he attended to learn about the caucuses and his Second Amendment rights and said he left better informed about the political process.
“It made me more involved as far as the caucus meeting coming up. I’m not from Utah but I plan to attend,” Phipps said. “It made me more aware of my gun rights. I don’t have a certain position on guns right now, but it did make me more aware of my rights.”
Huntzinger said he was embarrassed by the low turnout to the event held in the Agriculture Science Building. Six people were in attendance, but Clayton said he was pleased to come and speak to the group.
“I think [student groups] are more important than most people realize,” he said. “It gets other students to realize there is another viewpoint out there. My impression is that academia, and faculty especially, tends to be pretty anti-gun, and when you get a group of students, even if it’s a rather small group, to espouse another view, it gets others to realize there is another view on the subject.”
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu