Sego lily, Rocky Mountain Elk, sugar beet, Browning semiautomatic pistol. Reminds me of the Sesame Street song: "one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong." Except that they all do have one thing in common; they are all state symbols of Utah, or very nearly so.
States can designate all sorts of things as official symbols. Idaho has a state horse. Michigan has a state stone. Utah is the first to designate a state firearm.
I understand that the Browning has historical significance. And I understand that "There is a huge difference between the actions of a madman using a firearm … [and] patriots using a firearm to defend our country."
But the only purpose of a handgun, as far as I know, is to injure or kill people. Is injuring or killing people sometimes necessary? Yes, I think so. But I think that making a handgun a state symbol glorifies that occasional necessity. I think the "woo-hoo, guns!" attitude is unsettling at best. I'm finding it hard to articulate how I feel about this beyond "man, that stinks."
5 comments:
I used to be a complete pacifist, but that was a long, long time ago in a land far, far away.
I do like your quote, and may I add that if guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns. Yikes!
I think it's silly, at best, to have a state firearm.
Uh, so what reason did they give for making it the state symbol?
I'm not totally opposed to people having guns, to hunt for food, or to protect themselves. I just think that wanting to be identified with a gun is weird. I think it might also be an overture to gun manufacturers.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but you're certainly not alone in it, even among preppers.
Most civilized countries have gun control laws and most of them are very restrictive.
Browning is located in Morgan, Utah.
Hmmm, do or did I smell some campaign contributions somewhere?
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