Utah to Adopt Handgun as State Symbol

A law making the Browning M1911 semiautomatic pistol an official state emblem is expected to breeze through the legislature.

Nobody could accuse Utah lawmakers of being overly sensitive. Unfazed by the shooting rampage that killed six people in Tucson three weeks ago, the state legislature is set to adopt a pistol similar to the one used in those murders as its 25th state symbol. Others include a type of tree, a cooking pot, and folk dance. The Browning M1911 was invented in Ogden, UT 100 years ago by John Browning, son of Mormon pioneer Jonathan Browning, and was standard issue for U.S. soldiers until 1985. Republican Carl Wimmer, who is leading the charge to adopt the gun, told reporters “This pistol is Utah,” and who could disagree? Forty-five per cent of the state’s 2,700,000 residents own a firearm.