Bills aimed at curbing gang activity

Gangs may have a tougher time hanging out in public places, recruiting members or stopping members from leaving the gang under two bills passed tentatively by the Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate unanimously passed SB65 by Rep. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden, who is also the Ogden police chief, to make it a misdemeanor to solicit someone to join a street gang, or to try to prevent a member from leaving a gang.

"More than 20 states have something similar, and this is Utah's first attempt at it," Greiner told the Senate.

The Senate also passed on a 20-4 vote SB75 to allow police to ask identifiable gang members who are gathering in designated "gang free" areas to leave for eight hours. If they return in that eight-hour window, it would then be a misdemeanor.

Greiner said a common complaint from residents about gangs is they loiter in places such as malls, street corners or other areas with the apparent intent to intimidate others. His bill allows sheriffs or chiefs of police to designate areas where gang loitering is prohibited, and then to enforce it.

However, Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, said he believes the bill is an unconstitutional infringement on the right to assemble, and said similar laws have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We have to be mindful of the constitutional right of people to assemble," he said. Romero added the bill might be made to be constitutional if it more carefully defined unlawful loitering as that with no apparent purpose other than to establish control over an area, intimidate others from entering, or concealing illegal activities.

Greiner said lawyers he consulted feel the bill is constitutional, and imposes only relatively minor restrictions of keeping identifiable gang members out of an area for eight hours.

Both bills passed the Senate on second reading, and still face a final third reading before they are sent to the House for consideration.

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