Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed HB 76 — the “constitutional carry” bill that would make it legal for gun owners to carry a concealed weapon in public without a permit on March 22.
The bill made it through the Utah State Legislature with tremendous support. It passed 51-18 in the House and 22-7 in the Senate. It was a sign of Utah’s unabashed support for second amendment rights and a middle finger to the national trend that is demanding more gun control.
It was the pride and joy of our representatives’ legislative session, but Herbert washed it all away in his most gutsy and independent stand yet as governor of the state of Utah.
Herbert has made somewhat controversial vetoes before. In 2010, Herbert vetoed HB 12, a bill that passed almost unanimously in the House and Senate that would punish mothers who sought an illegal abortion through an “intentional, knowing, or reckless act.” However, Herbert signed an almost identical “revised” bill minutes later that simply omitted the term “reckless.”
Last year, Herbert made national news by vetoing Utah’s abstinence-only sex education bill. Many praised him as making an independent stand after the veto. However, a cynical interpretation would point to the polling all across the state that showed public support for the bill was nonexistent. A poll issued by Brigham Young University, a few days before Herbert’s veto, found that only 30 percent of Utahns supported abstinence only public education.
Herbert’s veto last Friday was more provocative and courageous than both of these other vetoes for two crucial reasons.
First, Herbert did not sign an amended version of the bill to compromise with the Legislature. He assertively told the House and Senate, “No.” He is leading and expecting others to follow.
Second, unlike the abstinence-only veto, it is not clear at all whether this constitutional carry veto has public support on its side.
A recent public opinion poll found that only 35 percent of Utah’s population supports stricter gun laws. While the poll did not specify whether Utahns would support a constitutional carry law, it at least shows the fundamental tension Utah has towards government restrictions on gun rights.
One of the lasts things a conservative politician in Utah wants is to be labeled “anti-guns” or “anti-second amendment.” Gov. Herbert is taking this risk — a risk that only eight other Republican legislators were willing to take.
This could be a sign of a new, moderate and independent governor of Utah. It could mean that Herbert is through with partisan politics and bills that only serve to divide the state. It could be the beginning of a trend for more leadership and compromise in Utah politics.
It might be a sign that Herbert is trying to make himself more moderate for a potential reelection race against Jim Matheson in 2016, too — a more cynical interpretation, but not an unwarranted one, given that Herbert has not ruled out another run for governor.
Only time will tell. However, the next place to look — to see if Herbert’s gutsy veto was just a single event or the beginning of new governor leadership in Utah — will be his upcoming decision on whether to accept Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in Utah.