Proud to be a Utahan

I hate it when people bash the state of Utah, and I usually avoid getting involved in political discussion with people. But what the heck, I am going to throw those two personal rules out the window and make this post anyway.

The Utah legislature this year is something special, they are highly motivated and poorly oriented. They are angry, passionate and demanding change! But when it comes down to it, they have no idea what to do. As evidence for my argument I have pulled together a highlights reel of this years legislative session.

[Some of these bills have already been dropped, and others are still in the approval process]

Here are the highlights of the Utah State Legislature so far this year:

1. Ferrell Cat Shooting bill: This bill would have made it legal to shoot wild cats... yup, that simple. You see a wild cat, just feel free to blast it away (preferably with a Browning M1911). While it is true that I am not an animal lover, I don't think we can just start shooting things.
   
2. State Gun bill: This gem just passed the state Senate! The official Utah State gun is the browning model 1911 handgun. While I am sure this is a good gun, it seems odd that we felt the need to spend time in our legislative session to make it the official state handgun (note, handgun. That way we leave the door open for other state designated firearms.)


3. Ban on Iranian investments: I thought the U.N. pretty well had this one covered, but then I remembered that La Verkin Utah technically seceded from the U.N., so this bill must be necessary to ensure that none of the 3,000 La Verkinites invest in Iranian business... right?


4. 7% Higher education cut: My issue with this bill isn't so much the cut, as the justification by State Senator Howard Stevenson. Stevens stated that many four year college degrees are worthless, and instead students should 'study' to become HVAC technicians. I have no issue with HVAC technicians, but really?!?


5. Repeal Amendment Petition: This little peach is actually unconstitutional! It is a move made by several other state legislatures to allow state governments to overturn any federal law that the majority of state legislatures disagrees with. Hate to break it to you, but South Carolina tried this, and it didn't turn out so well for them.


6. State Civics bill: This lil' gem would require all Civics and History teachers in the state of Utah to specify that the U.S. is not a Republic (as the pledge of allegiance suggests), but rather a Constitutional Republic (side note, the U.S. is actually a Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic, but who am I to correct the esteemed delegate from Spanish Fork...). This bill is expected to clear the way for the controversial bill requiring math teachers to use the letter Q in stead of X in all Algebra problems.

I am just glad that with all of the problems that the state is facing that the elected Representatives decided not to waste valuable time, and only debate meaningful bills. Maybe smaller government isn't such a bad thing...