Opinion: Utah’s State Gun Proposal a Misfire

Wednesday, 26 January 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Most states have an official flower, a song—some even have a state microbe. So why not add state gun to the list? Because, says an editorial in today’s Salt Lake Tribune, “the more members of the Utah Legislature argue for a bill to designate an official state firearm, the worse the idea sounds.” Yes, that’s right, Utah is in the middle of a heated argument on whether or not to designate the M1911 as the state’s official gun. The paper argues that is was fitting to celebrate the M1911’s inventor, a Utahn who became of the state’s largest employers, with a day set aside in his honor. It is not fitting, the Tribune writes, to honor the weapon itself, especially in the aftermath of the Phoenix shootings.

More about the debate over Utah’s State Firearm proposal

More about John Moses Browning, inventor of the M1911, via Wikipedia