UNITED STATES.- Mitt Romney’s record on gun control came up this week during debate for a U.S. Senate seat in Utah, a conservative western state with strong support for the Second Amendment.

Romney’s opponent, Republican Utah state lawmaker Mike Kennedy, criticized him for signing an assault weapons ban as governor of Mas- sachusetts, a state that’s long had tough gun laws.

The two men are both vying to replace long-serving Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is retiring after more than four decades. They’ll compete in a GOP primary on June 26, and the winner will face Democrat Jenny Wilson.

Kennedy: “My opponent in the past signed an assault-weapon ban as governor of Massachusetts ... I stand firmly with the Second Amendment.”

Romney: “An interesting thing happened while I served as governor of Massachusetts, and that is that the pro-gun lobby said ‘Look, we’re really concerned about all these restrictions we have on weapons and hunting and being able to carry weapons in Massachusetts.’ And the anti-gun people said, “Hey look, we’re concerned about some of these assault weapons. And so the two of them came together and formed a piece of legislation that banned certain weapons and at the same time expanded the rights of gun-carrying individuals to be able to hunt and carry guns throughout the state ... And I was happy to see two sides find a solution that worked for that state in that circumstance and I supported that.”

The facts: It’s true that Romney signed an assault weapons ban. And it’s also true it was a compromise.