On Friday night, I went along on a College Republican-sponsored trip to Hi-Caliber Firing Range, located off of Sixes Road in nearby Holly Springs, Ga. And like all the stowaway liberals who came along for the ride — there were at least half a dozen of us in various levels of disguise; I was wearing my College Republicans T-shirt with Ronald Reagan emblazoned across the front — I had a blast, firing off rounds from a rented FN Five-seven.

Before we could head to the range, however, we were obliged to listen to a safety lecture/stump speech delivered by state-Rep. Sean Jerguson, who opened the range himself earlier this year. It was fairly standard stuff; we were unsurprised to hear Jerguson voice his support for even such extreme measures as allowing guns in college classrooms — a philosophically fair position, given the wording of the Second Amendment, but a position that is bound to come into conflict with reality. But while we were comfortable accommodating Jerguson and his ideas in the friendly setting of the range, it’s not as humorous when true believers are ready and willing to legislate to the fullest extent of their ideology.

A recent bill that cleared committee unanimously in the Utah state legislature last Wednesday provides an even starker example of over-zealous ideology aspiring toward statute. Sponsored by Utah state Rep. Carl Wimmer, House Bill 12, “Abortion Amendments,” seeks to create a category of criminal homicide that would encompass women who undergo illegal abortions. Stemming from a case in which a pregnant teen paid a man to beat her, thus terminating her pregnancy, the bill would require women to be able to provide a benign cause for any miscarriage — or potentially face prosecution.

Wimmer — who worked with Planned Parenthood directors in shaping the legislation and approached the issue with understandable motives regardless of one’s position on the abortion issue — has expressed himself amenable to future legislation that addresses these concerns. But that doesn’t mean that he’s not completely comfortable with the present legislation as it stands. Reasoning that it’s absurd to think a prosecutor would pursue such a case despite conceding that his bill “technically probably could” criminalize miscarriage, Wimmer — and the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee — is still in favor of moving the bill forward for a vote on the House floor.

In many ways, it’s hard to dislike Wimmer. Or Jerguson, for that matter. Both practice what they preach; Jerguson even went so far as to proudly purchase his 4-year-old daughter a pink .22 on her birthday. Their transparency is refreshing in a political environment in which the lines between K Street and the Capitol building have become more blurred than ever, and political motivations oscillate narrowly between the venal and the crooked — soon-to-be-retired Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer (R) just announced his retirement amid an investigation charging him with “abusing a charity for private purposes and by trading legislative assistance for donations to the charity,” while the “National Tea Party Convention” unravels amidst allegations of profiteering.

Yet while the populist pitchforks are sharpened in anticipation of spearing Wall Street crooks and their cronies, it would be beneficial to keep in mind that just as much harm can be done by true believers as by the mendacious. The temptation to throw the money-changers out of the temple may be a valuable one, but if in the meantime we’ve gone and replaced them with politicians who are going to criminalise miscarriage and open the door for cross-fire in the nursery, then have we actually gained anything?

Editorials Editor Asher Smith is a College junior from Great Neck, N.Y.