Some anonymous comments:
"He should only ban fireworks if he also bans matches, lighters, construction projects, lightning and parking on dry grass."Some anonymous comments:
"Localities are best situated to make decisions that affect them most directly. For that reason, the current approach--which bans fireworks in unincorporated areas but leave it to municipalities to make the final call for areas within their boundaries--makes a lot of sense."
"The state of Nevada bans fireworks. Why should Utah burn to line the pockets of a few merchants?"
"There is absolutely no need for private use of anything that can spark a fire. It is not a protected right. I also believe, strongly, that use of guns should be restricted under these conditions."
"I am not going to light fireworks because of the extreme danger. If I wanted to light them in my driveway, there is nothing to catch fire so a statewide ban does not make sense."
"Of course the Democrats are trying to politicize this issue, but their desperation isn't just misleading, it's reckless."
"Is the Governor a dictator? Can he make such a sweeping motion...I don't think so. Considering only 1 of 400 fires this season was started by fireworks...this is a vast overreaction by the left. Fireworks don't start fires...people start fires."
"Wildfires on the vast deserts of Utah usually don't threaten homes and are beneficial to rangeland. It is when homes interface with open land and fire precautions are not taken that serious situations can occur. Homeowners need to take responsibility for their decisions to live next to nature. People in cities should be allowed to have fireworks."
"He needs to quit listening to legislative leadership and start showing leadership."
"Let decisions be made on a more local level. Fireworks in some areas may be acceptable."
"The Governor has taken a balanced and reasoned course, given the confines of current law. The State would not be well-served to tie its fire response up in litigation. It's far better to have the governor do all he can legally and engage the local policy makers to make customized determinations, based on local conditions and geography. Hats off to our Governor for avoiding a knee-jerk over-reaction and realizing the ultimate solutions lie with good public outreach and engagement."
"It's better to encourage responsible behavior and let the more local officials make the decisions for their cities."
"Absolutely. It is the only responsible thing to do. The waffling and passing the buck to local governments is Herbert's classic 'I'm not a real leader. I want to see what others do first' style."
"Obviously not every neighborhood is a wildfire risk."
"They're already banned in unincorporated areas as well as on most county's property and on federal property and cities have the chance to ban them as well, but it won't do much good. People will find a way to light them so we might as well have an avenue for them to do it safely within city limits."
"That people would even argue this point in a drought leads me I believe that filming 'Dumb and Dumber 3' is not far behind."
"Governor Herbert is the ONLY one that can truly ban fireworks. Thanks to Rep. Dunnigan's fireworks statute municipalities are not actually allowed to ban fireworks completely, only to narrow the allowable areas. Governor Herbert is dodging his responsibilities, again, by saying each city and town can decide for themselves, when he knows (unless he is an idiot . . . no further comment) that cities and towns can't legally ban them. The Legislature doesn't want cities and towns making their own decisions and Herbert doesn't want to be a leader--double-fail!"
"Act and act decisively. We can deal with the consequences later."
"Why do we overreact about everything that happens? Last week Carl Wimmer was calling for a special session to show our opposition to Obamacare. We get enough government in the 45 day session, do we really want any more?"
"There should be flexibility at the local level to allow local governments or decision makers closer to the situation to enact stricter regulations when the need arises. Not every decision needs to come from the Governor's office."
"In this case the legislature is no better situated or informed than the Governor so there's little to be gained by a special session. I think it makes sense to defer to the State Forester, who has the specialized expertise to address this issue."
"By placing the authority to close hazardous areas with the state forester, the current law removes politics from the equation. If the Legislature were to consider any change, it should be to clarify that the state forester can close areas to target shooting and fireworks in incorporated areas of the state as well as in the unincorporated."
"Are you kidding? Our Legislature will never pass stricter gun usage laws! This is not enough but it's the best we're going to get!!!"
"Legislative special sessions are expensive and often time wasters."
"I think we should all follow General Cooke's suggested approach of declaring martial law, usurping control from local officials (who cares that they were duly elected by the public), and continue Cooke's theme of 'shoot first and ask questions later'."
"Governor Herbert, Speaker Lockhart and Sen Waddoups totally punted this issue so that they will not be the ones to mess with any gun holder's rights - of which they would still have, just with a minor restriction to target practice until the rains/snow come again. Can't we all just do our part to be responsible and careful around the common ground that is the state of Utah?"
"I agree with his current goal, however I believe the state forester should be required to perform a better job at researching how large the threat really is. If it were to be as large as the state forester believes, fine. But I believe it was a knee-jerk reaction without sufficient basis to make the call he did."
"Lawmakers will not be willing to enact stricter limits."
"The 2nd amendment does not allow anyone to yell fire in a crowded theatre or to start a fire at no expense to themselves."
"Another example of Herbert passing the buck. The State Forester wasn't hired to make tough, necessary but unpopular decisions! That's Herbie's and the NRA-owned legislature's job!"
"Herbert is passing the buck because he does not want the political fall out from whatever decision he makes."
"The governor was more than happy to limit fireworks himself but passed the buck to the unelected state forester to set rules regarding the sensitive issue of guns? So lame."
"It's politically weak to let the state forester take the heat for a decision the governor should make - ban fireworks or call a special session."
"Herbert won't call the session because he doesn't have the votes and can't get them. The leg is not willing to touch any restrictions on guns and Herbert isn't willing to go to bat for it."
"Lawmakers should get off their silly Second Amendment horse and allow cities more flexibility to deal with the risks of target shooting. For this summer, they should ban shooting on public land, but in the future, they should at least allow cities and counties to assess these risks and enact their own rules. The right to bear arms does not equal an unfettered right to shoot wherever the hell you want, regardless of whom you endanger."
"It would be a waste of taxpayer money to call a special session. Even with a stricter law, it would be impossible to enforce. Too many guns, too many spaces to go shooting and to be secluded. The offenders would rarely, if ever, be found."
"When a few irresponsible chucklehead 'shooters' (not sportsmen) can't seem to handle firearms in a responsible manner, someone needs to deliver the message that personal rights, while needing to be protected, don't trump the need to not burn down other people's stuff."
"If the feds would just give BLM lands "back" to the state, then the state could sell these to private owners who would then put up No Trespassing signs on lands where people have been shooting. This would solve the problem. By the way, how do people exercise their second amendment rights in states where there is no BLM land?"
"I would guess present regulations are enough...just push them to the limits, and maybe beyond, in this emergency. Don't get the legislature involved. Good lord, no telling what they would come up with."
"It's pretty hard to regulate stupidity."
Respondents include -
Fred Adams, Stuart Adams, Jess Agraz, Scott Anderson, Laura Arellano, Patrice Arent, Bette Arial, Neil Ashdown, Bruce Baird, Tom Barberi, Heather Barney, Steve Barth, Jeff Bell, Tom Berggren, Mike Bertelsen, Ron Bigelow, Emily Bingham-Hollingshead, Rob Bishop, Laura Black, Nanci Bockelie, Charles Bradley, Jim Bradley, Ralph Brown, Chris Bleak, Curt Bramble, Joel Briscoe, Ralph Brown, Aaron Browning, Dave Buhler, Ken Bullock, Ric Cantrell, Maura Carabello, Marty Carpenter, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Kay Christensen, David Clark, Kim Coleman, Peter Corroon, Tim Cosgrove, Fred Cox, Lew Cramer, Gene Davis, Richard Davis, Brad Daw, Alan Dayton, Margaret Dayton, Mike Deaver, Brad, Dee, Joseph Demma, Jake Dennis, Dan Deuel, Jeff Dixon, Brian Doughty, Carl Downing, Randy Dryer, Susan Duckworth, Donald Dunn, Alan Eastman, Becky Edwards, Scott Ericson, Chase Everton, Jessica Fawson, Janice Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Lorie Fowlke, Ronald Fox, Claire Francis, Ryan Frandsen, Adam Gardiner, Jordan Garn, Ernie Gamonal, Luke Garrott, Dave Gessel, Sheryl Ginsberg, Natalie Gochnour, Robert Grow, Karen Hale, David Hansen, Neil Hansen, Joe Hatch, Jeff Hartley, Dan Hauser, Lynn Hemmingway, Deidre Henderson, Neal Hendrickson, Casey Hill, Lyle Hillyard, Kory Holdaway, Randy Horiuchi, Ben Horsley, Bruce Hough, Scott Howell, Greg Hughes, Miriam Hyde, Allison Isom, Casey Jackson, Eric Jergensen, Mike Jerman, Jonathan Johnson, Michael Jolley, Gordon Jones, Leslie Jones, Pat Jones, Kirk Jowers, Jeremy Keele, Brian King, Scott Konopasek, Steve Kroes, Chris Kyler, Carter Livingston, Fred Lampropoulos, Clark Larsen, Douglas Larson, David Litvack, Larry Lunt, Matt Lyon, Ben McAdams, Daniel McCay, Gayle McKeachnie, JT Martin, Maryann Martindale, Jason Mathis, Bob Mayhew, Karen Mayne, Bret Milburn, Derek Miller, Rob Miller, Ethan Millard, Brett Millburn, Karen Morgan, Jeffery Morton, Mike Mower, Holly Mullen, Wayne Niederhauser, Mike Noel, Randy O'Hara, Ralph Okerlund, James Olsen, Val Oveson, Kelly Patterson, John Pearce, Helen Peters, Karen Peterson, Frank Pignanelli, Becky Pirente, Marie Poulson, Jason Powers, Tami Pyfer, Joe Pyrah, Mike Reberg, Jill Remington Love, Lauren Richards, Holly Richardson, Robin Riggs, James Roberts, Luz Robles, Ross Romero, Carol Sapp, Don Savage, Bryan Schott, Shauna Scott-Bellaccomo, Jay Seegmiller, Jennifer Seelig, Patrick Shea, Randy Shumway, Soren Simonsen, Jeremy Slaughter, Brendan Smith, Brian Somers, Carol Spackman-Moss, Robert Spendlove, Barbara Stallone, Howard Stephenson, David Stringfellow, Mike Styler, Shinika Sykes, Juliette Tennert, Gary Thorup, Kevin Van Tassell, Royce Van Tassel, Doug Thompson, Michael Waddoups, Laura Warburton, Chuck Warren, Christine Watkins, LaVarr Webb, Todd Weiler, Alan West, Mark Wheatley, Larry Wiley, Ted Wilson, Carl Wimmer, Mike Winder, Travis Wood, Thomas Wright, Crystal Young-Otterstrom
Results from the UtahPolicy.com/KSL Insider poll can be heard on KSL Radio every Friday and are published on Utah Policy.com every Monday.
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