Utah State Capitol photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
On May 19, Utah will be holding a special legislative session to consider “crucial budget issues” and other bills added at the request of legislators. On May 17, Governor Cox approved 22 issues to be discussed in the special session. Although he had been asked to add establishing Utah as a Second Amendment sanctuary state and banning critical race theory to the approved topics list, Governor Cox declined to do so.
Instead, he expressed support for delaying discussion of any legislation regarding establishing Utah as a Second Amendment sanctuary state or dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion in education until those topics could be heard in a normal session. He said these issues “would benefit from more time, thought, dialogue, and input.” He added, “I can’t remember these types of hot-button issues ever being put on a special session call. It’s not that I disagree with the desire to act, but doing it the right way — and at the right time — will lead to better legislation.”
After Governor Cox released the approved topics list, the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate stated they would instead consider passing resolutions relating to establishing Utah as a Second Amendment sanctuary state and banning critical race theory in education.
The methods by which these resolutions have come to be do not reflect good governance, transparency, or traditional patterns of balance between the state’s legislative and executive branches. Legislation, whether binding or not, should not be executed as an expression of brute force or a desire to impose the will of a narrow band of citizens on the wider population. Instead, issues pertaining to our broader community and the standards we embrace should be thoughtfully researched and discussed, then publicly weighed.
In a healthy democratic government, process should matter to us as much as outcome. If we betray the principles of transparency, representation, and legislative norms, we risk further polarizing our community — all in the interest of non-binding resolutions. We ask our legislators to resist the pull to engage in partisan legislative theater and instead spend the next few months (as Governor Cox requested) engaging in meaningful dialogue with experts, citizens, and a wide range of parents — with particular sensitivity to those for whom these issues will have direct impact.
Regardless of your position on either measure, we ask you to call or write and request that your representatives in the Utah Legislature delay passing resolutions that risk dividing Utahns and increasing civic cynicism for a symbolic resolution (go here to find your representatives). We trust that in the next legislative session, with full transparency and a commitment to the democratic process, Utah legislators and constituents can work together in a measured and time-honored way to engage productively around the issues connected to establishing Utah as a Second Amendment sanctuary and dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in education.
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