Letter: Restrict outdoor firearm use during fire season

While the Second Amendment gives us the right to keep and bear arms, it's generally agreed that, in the interest of public safety, we do not have the right to use those arms however we wish. The current Eagle Mountain wildfire, and 19 other wildfires this year, have been caused by reckless target shooting in tinder-dry areas.

Last year, gunfire caused 24 fires; the year before it caused 20, including the destructive Herriman fire. Perhaps, since people have proven unable to govern themselves with a little common sense, it's time for a law.

We need a rule prohibiting target shooting outside of official ranges in times of high fire danger. Fireworks are restricted to prevent wildfires. Why not firearms? I know that such a law would conflict with some Republicans' rabid insistence on gun "rights," but sometimes common sense — and public safety — trump ideological purity.

Jenica Jessen

Riverton