Sock Puppets Speak Out!

[The Gays] Apparently, some people are a bit miffed about the California Supreme Court's momentous decision overturning the state's ban on gay marriage. Comments on other message boards have run the gamut from the predictable to the weird:

• Oh, those judicial activists! There they go again!
• Those crazy West Coasters need more legislators like Chris Buttars.
• California isn't the largest state, at least not in square miles.
  

The LDS Church lost no time in chiming in, saying the way the U.S. legal system works is "unfortunate."

My blog entry even generated a couple comments like this somewhat mean-spirited one from (natch) "anonymous.":

No Problem

Plenty more where that came from, it's no sacrifice at all, we won once and expect to do so again.

Not interested in marriage for time and eternity?

How bout a 10 month long California hitch.

(Wouldn't waste my time changing the monogram on the towels, tho)

And this one, from somebody who could at least be bothered to make up a name (if not a URL or e-mail address):

I agree, anonymous. This court will get either be overturned, or the Constitution will be amended in November. Supporters already have the signatures to get the issue on the ballot.

It's nice to know that mocking the fact that I give 10 percent of my income to my church is totally not below the dignity of City Weekly to mock. It's also nice to know that for all your arrogant preening and elitism, your paper is still supported by escort services and 1-900 numbers.

Carry on.

Well, Jeff James, I'm not the one with the holier-than-thou moral objection to 1-900 numbers and escort services. You are. So what are you doing reading such a pornographic publication?

And, why should I not object to the fact that you donate 10 percent of your income to fund a permanent war against my family and people like me? Are you offended that I do not respect the "sacred" nature of your blood money?

If you were donating 10 percent of your income to do something Christlike--like, for instance, helping the poor--then I might be impressed. But until that day comes, you can dismount from your high horse and stop pretending that your church meddles in out-of-state political matters for any other reason than the fact that it's run by homophobic old men.

While most members of the LDS Church are wonderful and loving people, it only takes a few like you, Jeff James and "anonymous," to perpetuate the myth that the church is filled with intolerant bigots who are willing to go far out of their way to make sure others can't get a fair break.

(Brandon Burt)

Down on Domestic Partners

[Law] An interesting decision came down from the Michigan Supreme Court today regarding insurance benefits for domestic partners of public employees. Like Utah, Michigan has a statute prohibiting same-sex marriage. Like Utah, certain cities, counties and public universities are recognizing (or trying to recognize) domestic partnerships in their employee benefit packages.

Hunker down Utah--now that Michigan has set a precedent, I can see our morality police jumping on the litigation bandwagon any minute now. LaVar Christensen, Gayle Ruzicka, Chris Buttars, are you all over it?

(Holly Mullen)

Gay Panic Hits Utah (Again)

[Media] It was the tongue-clucking heard round the world. Or at least throughout the state.

The story about a feisty little PTA president in American Fork has legs, apparently. All Belinda Jensen wanted to do was provide a platform for a group spreading the hoary old myth that gays "recruit" schoolchildren.

School administrators were understandably hesitant to give the appearance that the school endorses such views--which made Jensen realize that the PTA had been infiltrated by the Homosexual Agenda. (The idea that the American Fork PTA is a hotbed of homos seems plausible only to those with a screw loose.)

How could she, a plucky little bigot, thwart the evil forces silencing her? Why, by holding her little cross-burning at the library—at least the gays haven't infiltrated that public institution. (Or have they? The Pride Center will hold its own Q&A there next Wednesday.)

As usual with such events, more heat than light was generated. The dailies' comments boards filled up with venomous anti-gay ravings and offended reactions from people who actually know someone gay well enough to see through the smokescreen.

Four things:

Jensen's cohorts, who describe themselves as an LDS-oriented corporation, say gays have to actively "recruit" new members into "the homosexual lifestyle," and contribute to the spread of disease.

1. I have never heard of gay people going door-to-door looking for new converts. If anybody's recruiting, it's people like Jensen, who twist the tenets of Christianity to generate hatred against whomever they're trying to persecute at the time.

2. The last epidemic I heard of that could be attributed to some group was last summer's cryptosporidium outbreak--was it caused the gays? No. It was caused by the kinds of irresponsible parents who believe that the entire world has been created for the benefit of their children. (They're even talking about "swim diapers" now. How sick is that? I'd feel a hell of a lot safer in a gay swimming pool than one frequented by the American Fork PTA.)

3. If Jensen's actions and those of her propaganda-spewing pals result in just one attack against some poor gay kid in American Fork, she should be held responsible for spreading the lies that make anti-gay brutality a fact of life for many young people growing up.

4. If her goal was to make gays angry and to steel our resolve to achieve equal protection under the law in our lifetimes, she's succeeded. (Brandon Burt)

Spite on the Hill

[Utah Legislature] It's time again for an ugly bill pushed by ugly people who have little regard for humanity.

All together now: Spite makes right!

Those who did the right thing by rejecting House Bill 241: Reps. Holdaway; Gowans; Moss; Shurtliff; and Wheatley.

As for the bigots in the majority on the committee? Well, somebody keeps electing them. (Holly Mullen)