| 3 attorney general candidates debate at U. Guns on campus, Amendment 3 are among issues | |
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By Geoffrey Fattah Deseret Morning News | |
Guns on campus was an issue that hit home for University of Utah law school students Wednesday during a debate among three candidates vying for Utah's top legal post. As the campaign season heads into the home stretch, the debate at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law moot courtroom was a chance for candidates for attorney general to clarify their positions on Utah's top legal issues, including guns on campus, defining marriage and polygamy. The issue of guns on campus has pitted the attorney general's office against the University of Utah, and the case is now pending before the Utah Supreme Court. Republican incumbent Mark Shurtleff, seeking a second term, stressed that the controversy surrounding his stance that the university must follow state law in allowing registered firearms on campus was not of his making. Shurtleff said he offered his opinion on whether the U.'s gun policy complied with state law when the Legislature asked for it. "The problem was not created by me," Shurtleff said. Democratic challenger Gregory Skordas criticized Shurtleff for appealing the issue to the state's high court, adding litigation could have been avoided. "I teach at this campus, and it does not make me feel safer," Skordas said. Libertarian candidate Andrew McCullough said although he believes in a person's right to carry firearms for self-defense, he was not sure what position to take on the issue. "I'm caught in the middle," he said. On the issue of Amendment 3, which would effectively ban same-sex marriages in Utah, Shurtleff reiterated his opposition to the amendment, saying the current language has "substantial constitutional concerns." Shurtleff did add that he still supports a state's right to define marriage but said Utah needs an amendment that courts will recognize. Skordas said Amendment 3 was simply "based on the fears and phobias of the Legislature" and that such an amendment does not belong in Utah's constitution. Skordas also criticized Shurtleff for waiting too long to come out in opposition to the amendment. McCullough, who pointed out that he is LDS, said many Utah residents need to remember that early Mormons were persecuted for their beliefs about marriage. When it came to the issue of polygamy, Shurtleff and Skordas said they would both strongly prosecute those in polygamist groups who abuse women and children. When it comes to prosecuting polygamy itself, Shurtleff said infiltrating groups, like the FLDS Church, was "more closed than the Taliban." Skordas said he would prosecute underlying crimes of abuse and would go after those who "tried to cheat taxpayers." McCullough diverged from his two opponents to say he believes that polygamy is protected by the constitutional right to practice religion but did add he also believed that abuse of women and children should not be tolerated. On the subject of indecent material, Skordas said Utah has good laws against inappropriate material, such as child pornography, adding the state does not need a "porn czar" in reference to a short-lived position at the attorney general's office that was eliminated in 2003. Shurtleff said he believes pornographers are constantly "pushing the line" in obscenity and added that sex shops objectify women and encourage sexual crimes. McCullough said not only has he represented sexually ori- ented businesses in the past but that he was probably the only one out of his colleagues whose office is located on top of a sex shop, or as he prefers a "romance shop." | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Thursday, October 21, 2004 | |
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