Most Utahns agree with Rep. Paul Ray's proposal to make child sex trafficking a capital offense.
A new UtahPolicy.com survey finds 68% of Utah voters want to impose the death penalty for people convicted of child sex trafficking. Nearly a majority (48%) strongly agree with the idea. 28% oppose the plan. Just 3% are undecided.
Ray (R-Clearfield) was behind the measure to bring back the firing squad as a method of execution in Utah. That bill passed during the 2015 session after sparking global outrage.
Ray has said in numerous interviews that he hopes to bring his current proposal to an interim committee for consideration sometime this summer.
Support for the plan breaks sharply along partisan lines. A majority of Democrats (53%) oppose the idea while Republicans overwhelmingly favor capital punishment (76%) for child sex trafficking. Independent voters also are big supporters of the proposal as 68% say they are in favor.
Every single religious demographic in our survey favors Ray's idea.
– 72% of very active members of the LDS Church say they like the plan
– 82% of somewhat active Mormons are in favor
– 65% of inactive Mormons express support for the idea
– 80% of Catholics favor the plan
– 76% of Protestants back the idea
– Even 67% of those who subscribe to no religion say they are in favor of Ray's proposal.
The survey was conducted June 2-8, 2015 among 601 registered Utah voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 4%.
