“Patrick Henry Caucus” Founded and now pushing back against feds in Utah
Love of country, and mandates from the federal government, do not mix for a new group announced Wednesday at the Utah State Capitol.
Several hundred people whooped it up, as lawmakers launched the “Patrick Henry Caucus.” Henry, the “give me liberty or give me death” American revolutionary, railed against the British; but the Utah group’s target seems to be Washington.
From stimulus money to guns, some members of the caucus want the federal government out of the lives of people in Utah.
“Any bill that opens the door to bring stimulus money in, I will vote no,” said Representative Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork. He stood in front of up to twenty lawmakers, including current and former leaders of the Utah State Senate, to thunderous applause from those assembled. Still, In the Republican-dominated legislature, Sumsion is in the minority on stimulus funds, hundreds of millions of dollars of which are built into Utah’s budget.
Christina Wolf, a mother of seven, brought her family from Clearfield to the rally. “It’s a little crazy to have a federal government saying, ‘We’re going to take a bunch of money from you in taxes, run it through a bureaucracy, and give it back to you if you do what we say,” said Wolf.
Caucus organizers said one of their first acts would be a bill to blunt federal gun regulations in Utah. It would bar Washington from having any authority over guns or ammunition manufactured in Utah, if the weapons and bullets stay within state boundaries. Montana lawmakers first came up with a similar measure.
“I personally load my own ammunition. I’m a big believer in doing that,” said Representative Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem. He acknowledged gun owners in Utah have that right already, but claimed it is under threat from the Obama Administration.
Strategically, it may be hard to tell exactly how the “Patrick Henry Caucus” plans to wrest power from Washington, and put it in Salt Lake City. Representative Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said the caucus is not interested in a Constitutional Convention, or breaking away from the union. It does seem interested in a raft of legislation that would ultimately trigger court battles over education, abortion, guns, and civil unions.
Wimmer does not want Utah to go it alone. The group is calling on lawmakers in other states to join them, with the aim of states’ rights in their sights.
