Indians For Guns

something of interst, wonder how true this is.
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/22210 ... ate-symbol

An M1911A1 semiautomatic, .45-caliber pistol manufactured by Remington Rand. Utah gunmaker John M. Browning designed the original M1911 firearm, which lawmakers want to make the nation's official state gun.

A House committee voted, 9-2, yesterday to endorse a bill that would make Utah gunmaker John Moses Browning's M1911 semiautomatic pistol a state symbol. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said the .45-caliber handgun is something that represents Utah, The Tribune reported.

"It's an implement of freedom that has defended America for 100 years," he said.

The M1911, which was the standard-issue sidearm for U.S. forces from 1911 to 1985, was used by military heroes such as Alvin York and Audie Murphy, Wimmer said. The House Political Subdivisions Committee passed the measure, which several gun rights groups backed. The bill goes to the full House, which Republicans control.

Opponents argued that semiautomatic pistols are the weapons most often used in mass shootings, such as the rampage in Tucson on Jan. 8. The gun used to kill six and wound 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was a smaller, 9mm weapon.

"Is this the time to adopt as a symbol of the state the same kind of weapon used to kill all these people?" asked Steven Gunn of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah.

In Utah has one of the most gun friendly states and religious too with LDS ,Mormons and off course the communities of fundamentalist polygamist Mormons. I was watching one of very good HBO Serial Big Love which is centered around polygamist family and a character who is trying to get it accepted becomes a state Senator and in one of the scenes the senators in the Utah capitol building are comparing the guns they are packing in shoulder holsters..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Love

So its quite likely they adopt this iconic gun..also there is long list of State bird, animal, moto etc..

nags its done..what should be US official gun toss up with single action Colt revolver...


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/ ... 8Z20110318
ALT LAKE CITY | Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:59pm EDT
(Reuters) - Utah has become the first U.S. state to name an official firearm, placing an automatic pistol on a list of designated symbols, right along with the honeybee and the cutthroat trout.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed the bill into law this week, designating the Browning model M1911 automatic pistol as the official state firearm.

The gun, which turns 100 years-old this year, is manufactured in Ogden, Utah.

"It does capture a portion of Utah's history," Utah State Representative Carl Wimmer, a Republican who sponsored the bill, told Reuters.

"Even bigger than that, it captures a portion of American history," Wimmer said.

The late John M. Browning, who founded the company that makes the gun, was born in Ogden, Utah, in 1855 and he lived until 1926. He designed the automatic pistol for the U.S. Army, which was bogged down in sporadic battles with guerrilla fighters in the Philippines and needed a quick-firing weapon.

The pistol was adopted for use by the Army in March 1911, which is how it got the name Model 1911. It was first combat tested by the U.S. military in Mexico in 1916, in the pursuit of bandit-turned-revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

Wimmer said Utah residents should be proud of the fact the Browning firearm has been used around the world.

"The governor signed it into law and Utah became the first state in the nation to have an official state firearm. Arizona will have their governor sign theirs into law later this week," he said.

Arizona lawmakers are partial to the Colt revolver, which they have proposed naming a state symbol, to honor their Western heritage.

Browning is credited with 128 gun patents and was key in development of automatic and semi-automatic firearms.

Utah State Representative Brian King, a Democrat, opposed the designation.

"When we are talking about a state symbol we would do well to come up with one that is more unifying than divisive and this is a very divisive symbol for obvious reasons," he said. "This is just a poor choice for a state symbol."

King said he would have preferred honoring Browning by putting up a statue.

Other Utah state symbols include the Dutch oven, Spanish sweet onion, the sugar beet, the elk and the cutthroat trout.

thanks mate, it sounds like a big WOW MAN