Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Gay People are Not "Dirty Shirts"

[Your Utah Legislature] Last night, in his State of the State address, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. offered the typical laundry list an executive hands off to the legislative branch. Fund some new roads (though this was a surprise, given all highway projects had been put on hold last fall when the economy tanked). Support health care reform. Go for green energy projects.

And be kind to others. Help your neighbors in need. Help neighbors you don't even know. Be decent.

Funny. Just a few hours earlier, the Senate Judiciary Committee slammed to the ground the first in a rational package of gay-rights bills to the ground--right along party lines, of course. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, sponsored the measure as part of what gay-rights activists are calling the "Common Ground Initiative." It would have allowed financial dependents to sue if a breadwinner suffers a wrongful death. The law would have covered same-sex, long-term partners as well as anyone else in a family who relies on someone for financial support--grandparents or siblings, for example.

Republicans on the committee, of which Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, is chairman, were in fine form. They pulled out the "slippery slope" argument--as in, if we pass this bill, gay people will soon be nabbing our children off the street. (Don't laugh. I don't even want to know how many legislators actually believe it.) Another senator fretted that McCoy's bill is a "dirty shirt" in a laundry basket of marriage rights that would lead to legalization of same-sex marriage. Even though the state of Utah amended its constitution in 2004 to ban same sex-marriage.

McCoy and others who support Common Ground (and recent polls show most Utahns do), promise they'll work the other bills in the package and not give up. It's going to take the patience of those who fought for civil rights for blacks and for suffragists who battled for equal rights for women. It's going to take forever.

That said, will our elected leaders in this state ever, ever rise to a higher level of debate on this matter? Hate-filled speech, ugly analogies, unkind and fear-based arguments overshadow every discussion about gay rights at this Legislature. Their own Republican governor has implored them to practice basic human kindness to others. Still, comparing the gay and lesbian civil rights fight to a "dirty shirt?" Just sad. (Holly Mullen)

19 comments:

  1. They pulled out the "slippery slope" argument--as in, if we pass this bill, gay people will soon be nabbing our children off the street. (Don't laugh. I don't even want to know how many legislators actually believe it.)
    -----------------------------

    Yes, because everyone knows the only thing keeping the gays from baby smuggling is civil union benefits. After that the baby piracy begins full force.

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  2. As long as Mormons run things here, this will never change. Not until the Mormons are forced, that is, and that will happen eventually. They were forced to abandon polygamy, they were forced to accept blacks into the priesthood and they will be forced to accept that gays are human beings. Too bad they're too hung up on their own myopic religious beliefs to realize that for themselves.

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  3. Doesn't this go against their whole stance of "we still provide the same rights to gay couples, just not the sacred sanction of marriage".

    I remember hearing a lot of rhetoric saying that banning gay marriage would not deny gay couples the same rights as straight couples. That they were not practicing bigotry and that they would allow gays to have the same legal rights as other people.

    I mean, I'm not surprised that they are reneging on that stance. And I am purposely using the wildly non-specific pronoun "they".

    And what is it with Utahns trying to blame the Mormons? I'm sick and tired of fellow Salt Lake citizens taking no responsibility for their inaction in these matters and standing idly by and saying "well, that's what you get for having [insert name of cultural or political group here] in power."

    Grow a pair and start securing your own freedoms instead of passing the buck.

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  4. "And what is it with Utahns trying to blame the Mormons?"

    Are you kidding? Utah's government is ran by Mormons, all of whom believe that being gay, specifically, acting upon gay impulses, is evil and more than enough to damn your soul.
    Open your eyes.

    As for inaction, what would you have everybody do? Take to the streets? Did that. Send letters to our representatives? Yeah, did that, too. Vote against proposition 3? Uh huh, did that. Vote for anything that would bring equality to gays? Sure, any day. Scream and shout and tell the bastards that they are wrong? Still doing that. And to what end? The Mormons that run this state are terrified of gays and gay rights and will do everything in their power to oppress gays for as long as they are legally able. Open your eyes. There are people to blame for gays not having legal rights and, as far as Utah is concerned, they happen to be a bunch of Mormons up on the hill.

    As for growing a pair. What the fuck do you mean by that? Passing the buck? What the fuck do you mean by that? The Mormons on the hill write the laws, not me, not you. What would you have people do beyond what's being done? No, really, let's hear your fantastic ideas.

    What is it with Utahn's blaming Mormons for shit like this is spending a lifetime living with them, knowing how they think, what they believe and understanding that they run the show here. That's what it is. Now you know.

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  5. I believe he called the bill a "dirty shirt," not "gay" people.

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  6. UT queers,

    "Just jump on the bus Gus
    don't need to discuss much"

    UT isn't worthy of your time, talents, or the best years of your lives...EFF it!

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  7. It's UT's loss.
    Your sons and your daughters will leave, and CUT you out of their lives.

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  8. Can you now admit
    There's NO GAY FRIENDLIEST PART OF UTAH!

    The whole state is hateufl and bland as the Salt Flats

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  9. I can't admit it, Utah, is similar to the rest of America, it's not just here. All states have Bible thumpers. Yet, we are up against a Taliban mentality who uses money and political power instead of bombs and bullets. The result is the same... suffering, only they just used the people with disabilities as a scapegoat to deny Gay rights.

    There are legitimate cases for wrongful death cases concerning indirect dependants... so more were collected into the suffering pool.

    I think its sneaky, cohersive and breeds contempt....

    Mark is doing better managing his justified feelings, we all need to vent here and there.

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  10. Don't worry about LGBTs venting in Utah, unless they send you an email from there new location, you can just talk amongst your hetero selves...."f*ckin A how about them Utes?"...over and over until your ears bleed.

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  11. Crazy how some gays look at hetero's the same as some hetero's look at gays.

    Instead of straights talkin' 'bout football, let's swing the door:

    Gay man #1 to Gay man #2: Oh girl, will you look at the pattern on this china? My god but how beautiful.

    Gay man # 2 to Gay man # 1: Huh? Sorry cupcake. I was thinking about the gang-bang at the bath house last night; my ass still hurts. Let's go home, bake a cake and tidy the house!

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  12. ST8 guy #1 to ST8 guy #2: look at the cute a$$ on that Boy Scout
    St8 guy #2 to Str guy #1: huh, sorry I was busy punching my infant to death, only took two punches
    St8# guy #1: how MANLY

    Hahahahahahaha

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  13. Str8 guy #1....my house got foreclosed on
    Str8 guy #2....I lost my job
    Str8 guy #3...my kids sick and the Clinic's closed
    Str8 guy #4....my son moved out state

    queer guy......that's a damn shame....*smiles

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