Rep. Chris Cannon's support for resuming nuclear testing in Nevada has put him in a lonely place in Utah's political landscape - far from the views of his colleagues in Congress, a long way from the official state position, and enduring scorn from victims of Cold War weapons tests.
   "Testing nuclear weapons destroyed my family, and a return to blasting nuclear bombs gives me fear that my state, my family and my heritage will once again be put at risk," said Eva Marie Verde, a Salt Lake City Downwinder diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. Her father died of brain cancer and her mother and brother also developed cancer.
    In Kanab on Thursday, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed a resolution opposing any resumption of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. The resolution was passed unanimously by the 2005 Legislature.
    The legislation was in stark contrast to statements Cannon made last week in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, in which he said he supported testing a nuclear bunker buster bomb and the existing stockpile of weapons to ensure they work.
   In a statement Thursday, Cannon did not back down, saying it would be "unwise to foreclose the option of ensuring our nuclear weapons are, in fact, functional.
   "In these dangerous times, it is essential that America's strength be clear and appropriately safe testing may be a necessary part of maintaining our national defense," said Cannon, a Republican. "I only support testing that occurs after careful study of the safety and security of the public and the environment."
   His views set him apart not only from the governor and Legislature, but from the rest of the Utah congressional delegation.
   "I'm totally opposed to further testing on U.S. soil," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Even if it's underground, I don't want to have the testing done here. If they want to test on some island somewhere else, that's up to them, but I am totally opposed to that testing here."
   Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, reintroduced legislation last week that would erect obstacles to new nuclear tests.
   "I don't think we would ever want to go down this path again," said Matheson, whose father, the late Gov. Scott Matheson, died from cancer his family believes was caused by exposure to testing fallout. "We relied on the federal government to tell us the truth before and they lied."
   The bill would require environmental and safety studies and congressional approval before tests are conducted. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, sponsored a similar bill last year and plans to reintroduce it in this Congress.
   "Senator Bennett is opposed to any resumption of nuclear testing and has discussed this privately and publicly with Bush administration officials, and they have no plans now or in the future to resume nuclear testing," said Bennett's spokeswoman, Mary Jane Collipriest.
   On Thursday, the groups Downwinders Opposed to Nuclear Testing and HEAL Utah went to Cannon's West Valley City office to deliver a gift certificate for a hearing aid so the opposition to nuclear testing wouldn't fall on "deaf ears." The office was closed. A representative of HEAL Utah is scheduled to meet with Cannon's chief of staff today.
    In Kanab, Michael Lee, chief legal counsel to the governor, said he blames the death of his father, former Brigham Young University President Rex Lee, on cancer caused by the tests.
   "We all know someone affected by testing after being assured repeatedly no harm would come from the tests. We know better than that now," Lee said during a resolution-signing ceremony in the auditorium of Kanab High School.
    He also held up a pamphlet produced in 1957 by the former Atomic Energy Commission and distributed to residents of southern Utah, assuring them there was no danger outside the Test Site boundaries.
    "They were wrong," said Lee. "There were a large number of [people] downwind unfortunately who were affected."
    State Rep. Michael Noel, R-Kanab, sponsor of the resolution, also recognized Jesse Johnson, who proposed creating a memorial in neighboring Washington County, which received more fallout than any U.S. county from the tests. The approval of the monument, called the Wind Wall, is in the resolution and will be inscribed with names of victims believed to have died from health problems linked to fallout.
   Bennett, Hatch, Cannon and Bishop have all supported studies of a nuclear bunker buster. President Bush has requested $8.5 million in next year's budget after the House stripped the funds last year. The administration says it would not test a live weapon and Hatch and Bennett say it can be studied using computer models.
    Bush has also sought $25 million to prepare the Nevada Test Site to resume tests within 18 months, if so ordered. Currently, it would take at least 36 months to resume tests.
   Cold War weapons tests at the Nevada site rained radioactive fallout on residents downwind, afflicting thousands of unwitting residents with various forms of cancer.
   Congress eventually acted to pay Downwinders and to date has paid 8,875 claims to residents who have been able to prove their cancers were caused by the radioactive fallout. Cannon worked on one of the earliest Downwinder lawsuits.
   Congress passed a testing moratorium in 1992. President Clinton extended it and signed a comprehensive test ban treaty, but the Senate refused to ratify it.