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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyFebruary 18th, 2009
Giving further evidence to the lie that the LDS church doesn’t object to some minimal protections for gay and lesbian citizens, Utah lawmakers killed two more bills which were a part of the Common Ground initiative. After lengthy public hearings yesterday, House committees rejected two more bills: HB288, which would have allowed same-sex couples and other unmarried pairs to adopt and foster children; and HB267, which would have protected LGBT people from discrimination in housing and employment. Both bills were badly needed. As it is right now, a lesbian mother cannot cannot empower her partner to make medical decisions for her child, which can set up potentially life-threatening situations. And then there’s this:
Pleasant Grove resident Bryan Horn said his own experience with losing his job for being gay has been a “recurring nightmare.” Horn, who was not out as gay at work, said he was fired from his credit-union job after he asked a human-resource manager whether his partner could be included in the company’s health-insurance plan.
“I have not been able to find work since that day over a year ago,” he said. “You will never know the pain and heartache of what I have dealt with. An attorney once told me that criminals and prison inmates have more rights in the state of Utah than a gay man.”
There is only one bill left in the Common Ground initiative. It would allow expand protections for same-sex couples so they can visit a partner in the hospital, inherit property and make medical decisions. How much do you want to bet that even that minimal protection will be shot down?
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cowboy
February 18th, 2009
How much do you want to be[t]?
I can’t say. It’s illegal to gamble. /snark
But I’ll take everyone here on BTB out for a beer if we get this last one bill passed.
Johnson
February 18th, 2009
They just killed the last and final one regarding hospital visitation and estate rights for gay couples as well. The Mormon Church can no longer claim it is anything but stridently anti-gay. Any future protests to the contrary will be summarily laughed out of the room.
Benjamin
February 18th, 2009
There is a day of reckoning for the LDS Church and especially for the Utah politicians who rejected the common ground initiative. First California’s prop 8 is going down in flames very soon when the California Supreme Court renders it unconstitutional.
The second is going to be on a national level because eventually Utah will have to abide by certain Federal Laws that will be enacted regarding LGBT human rights. The only way to get the LDS Church and other anti-gay Christians to change their tune to stop meddling in politics and to keep their anti-gay views out of state and national affairs is through the rule of law.
homer
February 18th, 2009
I’m suddenly reminded of Scooby Doo, “You meddling kids!” It is totally going to suck to be the last homophobic politician when everyone else has decided that maybe it is a patriotic American value to believe in equal rights for all Americans.
cowboy
February 18th, 2009
Well…whew!… I didn’t have to pay up. By the way, just how much does a beer cost these days? (I don’t drink.) I wondered if I would have had to cash in some losing stocks to pay for the beer.
Mark F.
February 18th, 2009
While one might object to employment and housing anti-discrimination laws on good libertarian grounds (although I’m sure most Mormons are not in favor of allowing people to discriminate against them), the lack of support for the other measures shows many Mormons to be LIARS.
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