I've known this intuitively ...

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... but I didn't know it had a name!

Follow me down a logical path for a moment. Currently Utah law places no restrictions on a permit holder’s ability to carry a firearm however they choose. They can carry a handgun in their pocket, or an M1 Garand slung over their shoulder (bayonet and all). With this legislation the state would narrow that right to “holstered or encased, whether visible or concealed.” What, then, prevents Rep. Paul Ray from having his delicate sensitivities further offended a few years from now and removing the word “visible” from the code? Does open carry now become illegal in Utah? No. A better solution is NOTHING becomes illegal and Rep. Ray either amends the HB 276 or is outed for the civil rights infringing hoplophobe that he appears to be. Not in my state Rep. Ray, not in my state.

Why does any of this matter? Because of the Overton window.

It's always been my opinion that it is the extremes of an issue that define the state of the issue. Don't think so?

Does anyone think that the GLBT community would be in as good a shape today if there hadn't been men dressed in leather and sequins having a gay old time in the gay parade?

Likewise, the only way that we advance the state of the 2nd amendment is if the next expansion of our rights is better than the extreme. And if we give up the extreme end of our firearms rights, we simultaneously make it more likely that the floor for our rights gets lower, too.

pm