NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

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2016 Utah Candidate Questionnaire

Jeremy Peterson
Name: __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Peterson For Nine
Campaign Name: _________________________________________
Campaign ID #: __________________________________
2227
Jefferson
Ave.
Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ogden
84401
City: ___________________________________
Zip Code: _______________________________________________________
Utah House of Representatives
9
Republican
Office Sought: _________________________
District: _________________
Party: ____________________________________
801-390-1480
801-436-8074
Campaign Phone: _______________________________________
Fax: _____________________________________________
www.mrpetersonsperspectives.blogspot.com
jpeterson@xmission.com
Website: ________________________________
Email Address: __________________________________________________
For further information on Utah firearm laws,
please visit www.nraila.org and click on the "Gun Laws" feature located in the menu.
1. Do you agree that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a fundamental, individual right to keep
and bear arms that applies to all law-abiding Americans, regardless of where they live in the United States?
x a. Yes.
___
___ b. No.

2. Considering current Utah firearm laws, would you support any additional restrictive state legislation regulating firearms and/or
ammunition?
___ a.
___ b.
x c.
___
___ d.

Yes, for all firearms and ammunition. Please explain: ________________________________________________________________

Yes, for certain firearms and/or ammunition. Please explain: __________________________________________________________
No, current state firearm laws are sufficient.
No, current state firearm laws should be improved to benefit law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen in Utah.

3. Would you support state legislation banning the lawful manufacture, possession, ownership, purchase, sale and/or transfer of any
firearm?
___ a.
___ b.
___ c.
___ d.

Yes, for all firearms. Please specify type of restriction(s): _____________________________________________________________

Yes, for all handguns. Please specify type of restriction(s): ____________________________________________________________
Yes, for some firearms. Please specify type(s) of firearm(s)/restriction(s): ________________________________________________
No, I oppose banning the manufacture, possession, ownership, purchase, sale and/or transfer of any firearm.

4. Would you support state legislation requiring all firearm owners to register all their firearm(s) for entry into a centralized
state file or database?
___ a. Yes, for all firearms.
___ b. Yes, for all handguns.
___ c. Yes, for some firearms. Please specify which firearms: _______________________________________________________________
x d.x No, I oppose state registration of firearms.
___
5. Many .50 caliber firearms are used in big game hunting and target competition, and the .50 caliber BMG cartridge has been used for
nearly a century. Would you support state legislation prohibiting the ownership and/or sale of any .50 caliber firearms or
ammunition in Utah?
___ a. Yes, I would support such legislation. Please explain: ________________________________________________________________
x
___
b. No, I would oppose such legislation.

6. In 1994, Congress imposed a 10-year ban on the manufacture, for sale to private individuals, of various semi-automatic* firearms it termed
assault weapons, and of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, which primarily affected handguns
designed for self-defense. Congress subsequent study of the ban, as well as state and local law enforcement agency reports, showed that
contrary to the bans supporters claims, these firearms and magazines are misused in less than one percent of violent crime. Since the ban
expired in 2004, the numbers of these firearms and magazines owned have risen to all-time highs and violent crime has fallen to a 44-year
low. Would you support state legislation restricting the possession, ownership, purchase, sale, and/or transfer of semi-automatic
firearms and/or limits on the capacity of magazines designed for self-defense?
*Semi-automatic firearms have been commonly used for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense since their introduction in the late 1800s.
All semi-automatics fire only one shot when the trigger is pulled. They are not fully-automatic machine guns, which have been strictly
regulated under federal law since 1934.
___ a.
___ b.
___ c.
x d.
___

Yes, I would support such legislation for semi-automatic firearms and magazines.
Yes, I would support such legislation for semi-automatic firearms only.
Yes, I would support such legislation for ammunition magazines only. Please specify magazine capacity limit: ___________________
No, I would oppose such legislation.

7. Would you support legislation requiring individuals to obtain a state license* to own, possess or purchase firearms?
*Licensing, as used here, refers to state legislation requiring firearm owners to obtain a license from a government official or agency to own
and possess a firearm. As a rule, firearm owner licensing laws generally require fingerprinting, photographing, and/or a background
investigation of the applicant. Note: this is different from acquiring a permit to carry a concealed firearm from the state.
___ a. Yes, for owners of all firearms.
___ b. Yes, for owners of all handguns.
___ c. Yes, for owners of some firearms. Please specify: ___________________________________________________________________
x d.x No, I oppose state licensing of firearm owners.
___
8. Legislation to ban persons on the so-called Terrorist Watchlist which is comprised of several secret federal government lists from
purchasing or possessing firearms has been introduced in the Congress and several states. The Watchlist currently contains approximately
1.1 million names and is fraught with errors. The listing process is highly subjective, highly secretive, and affords virtually no due process or
any opportunity to challenge mistakes. At one point, for example, former U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), former U.S. Rep. John
Dingell (D-Mich.), and children as young as two were included on the Watchlist. The NRA opposes the use of secret government lists to
deny Americans their fundamental Second Amendment rights without due process of law. Do you:
___
x a. Agree with the NRA that secret government lists should not be used to deny Second Amendment rights and oppose this legislation.
___ b. Disagree with the NRA and support legislation authorizing the use of secret government lists to deny Second Amendment rights.
9. Current federal law provides for a three day safety-valve to ensure that the background check system does not unduly burden the
individual right to acquire firearms with substantial delays. This law allows a federally licensed firearm dealer to transfer a firearm after three
business days if the background check system fails to provide a determinative response and the dealer has no reason to believe the potential
purchaser is prohibited from receiving the firearm. Some gun-control advocates have proposed eliminating this safety-valve by increasing the
acceptable time period of delays to a week, ten days, or even indefinitely. Would you support a proposal to increase the acceptable
time period of delays on firearm acquisition?
___ a. Yes. Please explain: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
___
x b. No.
10. Gun Violence Restraining Orders or Extreme Risk Orders are court orders that allow someone to seek that another person be prohibited
from possessing or receiving firearms. The orders can be issued even where the person to be prohibited has never been convicted of a crime
or been adjudicated for mental health reasons. These orders effectively empower a person to restrict the constitutional rights of another citizen
with little or no due process of law. Would you support legislation to implement these types of orders in Utah?
___ a. Yes. Please explain: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
___
x b. No.
11. Would you support state legislation to require a background check on every sale or transfer of a firearm, even between private
individuals or family members (so-called universal background checks)?
___ a.
___ b.
___ c.
___
x d.

Yes, I would support requiring background checks on all private sales or transfers, including those to family members.
Yes, I would support requiring background checks on private sales or transfers, excluding those to immediate family members.
Yes, I would support requiring background checks on private sales or transfers at gun shows only.
No, I would oppose requiring background checks on all private sales or transfers.

12. Current Utah law requires concealed firearm permit applicants to be generally familiar with the types of firearms they will carry. This
requires the applicant to take a state-approved course or show proof of equivalent experience. Despite the fact that there are currently about
535,000 Utah permit holders and there have been very few training-related problems, state legislation has been proposed that would require
applicants to provide a live-fire demonstration of their competency. This would add cost and logistical barriers to permit acquisition. Would
you support such state legislation?
___ a. Yes, I would support such legislation. Please explain: ________________________________________________________________
___x b. No, I would oppose such legislation.
___ c. No, and I would support legislation to repeal the government mandate that permit applicants complete a training course.
13. Utah law exempts concealed firearm permit holders from the prohibition on possessing firearms on school grounds. Do you believe that
this exemption should be repealed?
___ a. Yes.
___
x b. No.
___ c. Other. Please Explain: ________________________________________________________________________________________
14. When a person buys a firearm from a dealer in Utah, the dealer is required to contact the state Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) so
an instant background check can be conducted on the prospective purchaser. The buyer must pay a fee of $7.50. The FBI conducts this
instant check at no-cost to firearm purchasers. Further, BCI has recently been lobbying the legislature for higher background check fees.
Would you support legislation to repeal the BCI instant background check and instead have the instant background checks conducted
at no cost to gun buyers by the FBI as is done in 35 states?
___ a. Yes, I would sponsor/cosponsor such legislation.
Anything we can do to keep control at the state level rather than deferring to the national
___ b. Yes, I would support such legislation.
level is good policy in my view. Becoming dependent on Federal background checks may put
x c. No, I would oppose such legislation. Please explain: _________________________________________________________________
___
state's and citizen's rights in jeapardy in the future due to fickle and politically volatile Federal policy.
Also, Utah records are a better source of scrutiny than Federal records. Let Utah manage Utah.

15. Current Utah law allows law-abiding citizens to carry a weapon in plain view (open carry) for defense of themselves and others virtually
anywhere in the state and allows concealed carry (without a permit) in a persons vehicle. In order to cover the firearm (as with a coat)
outside your vehicle and still be in compliance with Utah law, a law-abiding citizen will have had to apply for and been issued a concealed
firearm permit (CFP). Would you support Permitless Carry (see 2016 Senate Bill 97) legislation reforming the Utah carry law to
remove the requirement that law-abiding citizens obtain governmental permission (CFP) in order to provide a means of selfprotection with a concealed firearm?
___ a. Yes, I would sponsor/cosponsor such legislation.
___ b. Yes, I would support such legislation.
___
x c. No, I would oppose such legislation. Please explain: _________________________________________________________________
I believe our current laws are sufficient.
16. Which of the following choices best describe your attitude toward hunting (please mark all responses that apply)?
___
x a. Hunting is both a valuable tool of wildlife management and a positive use of natural resources and should be preserved.
___ b. Hunting should be eliminated and made illegal.
___ c. The hunter/gatherer way of life is one of the most basic characteristics of the entire human existence and should never be
prohibited.
___ d. Other: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
17. Utah has thousands of acres of public hunting lands that provide a valuable resource to Utah hunters by providing them an affordable
place to hunt, as well as to pass on the heritage of hunting to future generations. In recent years, several states have protected public hunting
lands with No-Net-Loss legislation. This legislation requires that if an area currently open to public hunting is closed to hunting, the same
number of acres of public land must be opened to hunting elsewhere. In other words, it guarantees that there will never be fewer acres of
public land open to public hunting than exists today. Would you support No-Net-Loss legislation in Utah?
x a. Yes, I would support such legislation.
___
___ b. No, I would oppose such legislation. Please explain: ________________________________________________________________

18. Many states provide civil liability protection to private property owners who allow the public to hunt on their property. Shielding
property owners from frivolous lawsuits eliminates a significant concern for property owners and encourages them to open their land to
hunting. This enhances public hunting opportunities and assists the state in effectively managing its wildlife populations. Would you
support passing or strengthening liability protections for private landowners who allow hunting on their property?
___
x a. Yes, I would support this legislation
___ b. No, I would oppose this legislation. Please explain: _________________________________________________________________

19. Are you a member of the National Rifle Association, the Utah Shooting Sports Council, the Utah Rifle & Pistol Association,
GOUtah!, or any other gun rights/shooting/sportsmens organization?
___ a. Yes. Please specify: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
___
(If NRA member, please list membership number)
x b. No.
20. Have you ever run for or held an elected office?
___
x a. Yes. Please specify: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Current House Rep for District 9
___ b. No.

Please use the space below for additional comments.

If your campaign has released a position paper on firearms issues, please feel free to include it as well.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

--AUTHORIZATION-This signature attests that the information provided in this questionnaire accurately represents the views of the candidate.
4-1-2016

Candidate Signature

Date