Box Turtle Bulletin

Utah Legislators Show Blatant Contempt for LGBT People

If you want to know the inhumanity of Utah legislators, just look here:

Probably the most frustrating part for the bill’s supporters is that HB160 obviously was dead before the House Judiciary Committee convened. Nevertheless, citizens, gay and straight, went through the motions—testifying the state needs a simple way to protect the rights of cohabiting adults in inheritance and medical decision making….

…Rep. Keith Grover, R-Orem, idly surfed the Web on his laptop as unmarried couples told of their fears that they would not be able to care medically, financially and emotionally for “the person who matters to me most.”

The bill’s sponsor Rep. Jennifer Seelig, later said she was disappointed with the committee’s lethargy. She was offended that her efforts were characterized by the right-wing Sutherland Institute as “mendacious.”

That’s right. Simply allowing gay people to designate a partner to make medical decisions and visit them in the hospital is “given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth.” It’s hard to imagine human beings — especially those who claim to be Christians — holding other human beings with such utter contempt.

But that’s the way things roll in Utah. And the LDS church likes it that way. We now have firm, incontrovertable evidence that when Utah legislators and the LDS leadership claim that they don’t hate gay people, they are boldfaced liars. We saw it right there in that committee room. They couldn’t even muster the decency, or that famed Mormon politeness, to pretend otherwise.

No Common Ground In Utah

If there was any question before, there’s none now. The state of Utah now vies with Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina as among the worst states in the nation for LGBT citizens. A Utah House legislative committee found that the very simplest of provisions for designating a partner with the power of making medical decisions or visitation rights was just way too radical.

That’s right. Simply allowing a partner to visit a loved one in the hospital is a threat to marriage. Obviously.

LaBarbera Award: Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars

This is what LGBT people in Utah and in the Mormon church are up against. Utah State Senator Chris Buttars has joined Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern in citing gays as the greatest threat to America, in a comment he made in an upcoming documentary about Proposition 8. In late January,

Buttars sat for an interview with documentary maker and former ABC4 (KTVX, Salt Lake City) reporter Reed Cowan, in which he cited gays as possibly the greatest threat to America, and compares LGBT leaders to radical Muslims:

Homosexuality will always be a sexual perversion. And you say that around here now and everybody goes nuts. But I don’t care.”

…”They’re mean. They want to talk about being nice. They’re the meanest buggers I have ever seen.”

And just seconds later, Buttars draws a comparison between some gays and radical Muslims. “It’s just like the Muslims. Muslims are good people and their religion is anti-war. But it’s been taken over by the radical side.”

…Buttars: “What is the morals of a gay person? You can’t answer that because anything goes.”

And finally, this is how senator Buttars refers to the “radical gay movement.” “They’re probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of.”

Butters also claimed credit for killing every gay rights bill in the state legislature for the past 8 years.

Just one year ago, Buttars became the center of controversy when, during a debate over an education bill, he said, “This baby is black…this is a dark, ugly thing.” That drew condemnation from the NAACP. In this interview, he wasn’t much better, saying “the ACLU — bless their black hearts…”

Buttars was the director of the Utah Boys Ranch, (now West Ridge Academy), a Mormon reeducation camp located in West  Jordan, Utah, for fifteen years before retiring in 2005. Described by critics and former staff members as a Mormon Gulag, the LDS-affiliated camp has come under charges of sanctioning and promoting abuse among its inmates — err, clients:

Upon arrival, children are changed out of their regular clothes and into either a wool blanket – to be worn like a dress, with a rope leash to be tied around the waste – and t-shirt, or a t-shirt and Army pants. They are then delivered to what is called the “work crew” which, interestingly enough, is entirely missing from the Gulag’s marketing material and program description.

On Work Crew, despite the name, a lot of the time is spent standing completely still, facing a wall. Talking of any kind is certainly out of the question, as is moving – including scratching your nose – without permission. When children aren’t being forced to stand with their noses against a wall, they are often led around the facility – those donning Army surplus store wool blankets are led by their rope leashes – to do inane, demeaning types of labor. For example, gathering hundreds of rocks and boulders in a pile – just to move the pile to another location immediately after. Or digging ditches, and filling them back in, with plastic spoons.

Once a child is released from work crew – which could be weeks or months – they are given a pair of blue jeans to go with their green t-shirt. As a “green shirt” there is a considerable amount of time that is no longer spent facing the wall, but there is still no talking whatsoever. In order to earn the privilege of monitored verbal communication a child must carefully read the first book of the Mormon scriptures – First Nephi – and prove they have done so by “passing it off” to one of the Mormon missionaries on staff.

The child must also confess their sins to a Mormon Bishop in a “bishop’s interview” before changing into a “blue shirt” – which is as good as it gets in the Gulag. Green shirts are not allowed to sit on furniture or read anything besides Mormon canon.

Among specific allegations:

Chris Buttars ordered two large men to violently rip my clothes off, shave my head bald and made me walk around naked (my underwear was torn in struggle) with nothing but an army blanket for 2 weeks. My room mates whom I was locked in with were there for sexually molesting their younger brothers. I was 13 and I never recovered from my experiences there.

It was much worse than that but I can’t stand to describe it. I’d give anything to ask him ‘why?’

He allowed mentally ill children to grow up without any psychological treatment (mental illness in the boys ranch was defined as “the crazy act for attention”) He also turned a blind eye to prison justice against these kids in his boys ranch.

Update: We have the entire transcript of Buttars’ award-winning remarks here.

Utah Legislators Kill Two More Common Ground Bills

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?

Salt Lake County Employees Get Benefits

In contrast to the Utah State Legislature’s all-consuming desire to make sure that gay couples know their place (hint: it’s not in Utah), the county government of Salt Lake County has been trying to find ways to meet the needs of their citizens. Now “adult designees” of city employees will be eligible for some benefits. (SL Trib)

The County Council voted 6-3 on Tuesday to extend health insurance, dental coverage, extended funeral leave, life insurance and a variety of other protections to unmarried partners or other “adult designees” of county employees.

All five Democrats voted for her measure, along with Republican newcomer Max Burdick, who said the council’s decision shouldn’t be based on personal judgments about race, religion or sexual orientation.

These employees will join their neighbors in the city of Salt Lake who have participated in the Mutual Commitment Registry. Surely the capital area has become an oasis in a very dry and desolate desert.

Utah House Business and Labor Committee Endorses Anti-Gay Discrimination in Employment and Housing

Utah House Bill 267 would have banned discrimination in employment and housing based on sexual orientation. Naturally, Utah legislators couldn’t have that.

Sponsored by Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, HB267 is part of the Common Ground Initiative, a legislative push for legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Utahns. Johnson called the decision to kill her bill in committee an “endorsement of discrimination.”

…Opponents argued the bill was part of a wider gay “agenda” aimed at undermining Utah’s Amendment 3, which forbids same-sex marriage.

According to Republican representatives James Dunnigan, Gage Froerer, Kevin Garn, Francis Gibson, Todd Kiser, Michael Morley, Patrick Painter, and R. Curt Webb, it is perfectly acceptable to fire someone because you suspect they may be gay. And that person should have no recourse whatsoever.

It’s an odd feeling to know that some people don’t want you to be able to support yourself or have a roof over your head because you are gay. And its frightening to know that a majority of Utah’s legislators support those people.

Utah is a very scary place.

Utah’s America Forever Ad Update

We just found a clean, crisp copy of the America Forever ad that appeared in the Salt Lake City Tribune and the Deseret News over the weekend. To see the full sized ad, just click on the thumbnail. This way, you can see what passes for logical thinking and reasoned discourse on the part of our opponents: comparing homosexuality to prostitution, drug use, and so on. In fact, as Timothy Kincaid highlighted yesterday, they just want us to go away altogether. Just by the fact that gays and lesbians are visible “is stating and displaying that he or she practices sodomy.”

They also claim that they found a “Homosexual Declaration of War,” which, according to the ad, goes like this:

We will sodomize your children. All churches who condemn us will be closed. The family unit eliminated. Any man contaminated with homosexual list, will be automatically barred from any position of influence.

That, of course, is a very loose paraphrase of a satire written in 1987 by one Michael Swift — a nom de plume inspired by the great satirist Jonathan Swift. And in case anyone missed the reference, the author prefaced his satire with this:

This essay is an outré, madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor.

Somehow, anti-gay extremists never include that disclamer when they quote the essay.

Unacceptable to Mormon Eyes

Update: This post has been updated to include a clean, legible version of the full page ad.

Today the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News ran full page ads by an anti-gay activist group called America Forever. This is the same group that was wearing “Homosexuality is Anti-Species” t-shirts last week.

The ads are being called “hateful” by both friends who find them disgusting and foes who fear they may reflect badly on their own more socially acceptable brand of anti-gay behaviors and attitudes.

Gay-rights opponent Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, agrees with America Forever’s stance on upholding “traditional marriage” but condemns the group’s tactics and rhetoric, including the ad.

“There’s no need to have hateful discourse,” Wimmer said. “Quite frankly, they make those of us who are on the side of traditional marriage — they make a lot of us — look bad.”

Yes, Wimmer, mirrors can be disconcerting.

But what I find more interesting than the bile splattered accross newspapers in Utah is what was not included in the Deseret News, a newspaper owned by the Mormon Church.

The Deseret News recognizes that their readership has a set of values and they established publishing guidelines so as not offend their sensibilities. Therefore, the Mormon paper had a slightly different version of the ad.

First, let’s see what was completely acceptable for Mormon eyes:

For example: by holding hands and kissing in the public area of: an apartment complex playground, in a family neighborhood, at a party, or to present one’s self as a homosexual person in the workplace, is stating and displaying that he or she practices sodomy, and backed by law, will force the acceptance of homosexuality as a relationship equal to a man and woman relationship.

and

If a hooker displays her conduct, a druggie displays his conduct and a homosexual displays his conduct, it is our right to not have them part of our lives: in our businesses, living in our basements, barbecuing in our yards, or in common living areas.

and

Gays should be forced not to display their sexual conduct to our children as role models in school as school teachers and principals, in our streets, shopping centers, and in our lives.

All of the above passes the test of acceptable text for Mormon eyes. However, not all things are allowed in Deseret News.

MediaOne made the decision to run both ads — and removed a photo of two gay men kissing from the LDS Church-owned News version — Low said, consistent with publishing guidelines from both papers.

Yep, undeniable hate speech that seeks to coerce one’s gay neighbors and remove their constitutional rights is perfectly acceptable. But a picture of two men kissing is forbidden – even when in an anti-gay ad.

Salt Lake Trib Columnist Speculates on Huntsman’s Motivations

When Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. announced his support for civil unions, I wondered whether this might be an indication of his assessment of the future of Republican politics. Rebecca Walsh, a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune wonders along a similar vein:

But [Huntsman] knows a little something about timing. After his spokeswoman’s low-key response to a Tribune reporter’s question, Utah’s moderate governor will be one of few nationally prominent Republicans open to civil unions for gay couples. Simultaneously, the governor becomes more palatable to a Democratic president who touts bipartisanship. And if that doesn’t work, Huntsman is positioned at the forefront of a Republican Party that’s getting a makeover in time for the 2012 elections.

“It immediately hurts him with core Republican voters. But long term, he has at least four years for this to play out,” says Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics. “Gov. Huntsman feels the calling to be a leader of the rethinking and reshaping of the Republican Party. He’s concerned about the future.”

Whether Hunstman is seeking to reshape the Republican Party for a 2012 run or is simply stating his heart-felt convictions, his support is a very positive affirmation that one need not be anti-gay to be a successful conservative politician.

Utah Anti-Gay Protesters Hate the Sinner

Anti-gay activists in Utah were outraged that their Governor, Republican Jon Huntsman Jr., supported – at least in principle – gay citizens and couples having rights up to and including civil unions.

This is hardly new. Plenty of conservatives have objections to equality based on their fears about what this might mean to them. Any time an issue relating to gay rights arises, ministers worry about being jailed, parents about children being exposed to the insideous homosexual agenda, and protectors of marriage fear that allowing folks to care for each other may lead to the end of Western Civilization.

Well the Utah anti-gays have given up on those fears, or pretenses of those fears. They are letting their true lights shine. (SL Trib)

Several protesters wore T-shirts that read “homosexuals are anti-species.”

The reason gay people should not have anti-discrimination jobs protection? Because they are anti-species. The reason a dependant partner should be barred from wrongful death lawsuits: anti-species, of course. And why a couple can’t make medical decisions for each other? Surely you know; it’s because they’re anti-species.

I give no credence to the nonsensical fear-based “defense” arguments. But I do acknowledge that not all of them come from a place of malice or contempt.

But “Homosexuals are Anti-Species”… yeah, that one is just bald-faced bigotry and unbridled hatred.

Utah Governor Supports Gay Rights

Jon Huntsman, Jr., the Mormon Republican Governor of Utah, has come out in support of gay rights. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a spokeswoman said Monday, backs Equality Utah’s Common Ground Initiative, a legislative effort that would provide some rights to gay and transgender Utahns. Even more, the Republican governor favors civil unions.

ABC4

ABC 4 asked Huntsman, “You support civil unions?”

Gov. Jon Huntsman replied, “Well, its something I have given a lot of thought to and the answer is yes.”

“I believe in traditional marriage. I always have. But I also believe there’s more we can do in terms of enhancing those individual rights for others,” said Huntsman.

This is a rather unexpected turn of events. And one that caught many in Utah state politics off guard.

However, Jon Huntsman may be playing to a bigger audience than his neighbors. As a successful and popular governor, Huntsman is considered as a potential Republican Presidential nominee in 2012.

If this is part of Governor Huntsman’s strategy to craft his image for Nominee Huntsman, it tells us something interesting about what a conservative Republican in a conservative state predicts American attitudes towards gay couples will be in four years. But whatever his motivation, Huntsman’s support is very welcome.

Calling Mormon’s Bluff

Last week, a Utah Senate committee killed a bill allowing individuals who rely on a breadwinner to sue for wrongful death. The vote to kill the measure was on a strict LDS-membership vote. Equality Utah isn’t taking that set back lying down.

Over the weekend EQ UT began a billboard, radio and newspaper ad campaign reminding Utah legislators of the LDS statement that there is “common ground” on some rights for same-sex couples short of marriage. The newspaper ads appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret New. Equality Utah’s Common Ground initiative seized on the LDS statement and proposed five specific bills for the Utah legislature’s consideration:

1. Domestic partnership benefits for state employees
2. Fair housing and employment provisions
3. Right to sue for wrongful deaths — the bill that was defeated last week
4. Domestic partner registry with attached rights of inheritance, insurance, and fair housing
5. a popular vote to modify Amendment 3, which bans same sex marriage and civil unions. Voters would be asked to modify the amendment to allow civil unions.

Mormon Utah Legislators Oppose Even the Slightest of Gay Rights

You may recall that the Mormon Church claimed that they don’t object to “rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches”. And you may recall that Equality Utah called their bluff and asked for Mormon support for five bills that would allow for just those rights.

And you may even recall that polls showed that Mormons in Utah generally will oppose anything whatsoever if it appears that gay people might want it.

Well we now have the answer to the first of the five bills. Senate Bill 32 would allow individuals who rely on a breadwinner to sue for wrongful death. Currently Utah law limits those who can sue to only spouses, parents and children.

Let me be clear. There is no legitimate reason to exclude those who rely on someone for their livelihood from suing should that livelihood be taken away due to the wrongful actions of another. If a woman is killed directly due to the reckless or wrongful actions of another, why should her partner who stays home and raises the kids not be able to sue?

But because this bill was understood to benefit (among others) those gay persons who rely on each other, Sen. Buttars’ committee killed the bill 4 – 2.

And did the Mormon Church live up to its claim? Did it encourage its members to allow for probate rights for gay couples? Let’s see.

Voting “no” were:

Chris Buttars, Mormon
Lyle Hillyard, Mormon
Mark Madsen, Mormon
Michael Waddoups, Mormon

The three non-Mormons either voted Yes or were absent.

There is no way to explain the action today other than in terms of bias, bigotry, or downright hatred.

The more I experience the actions of those in leadership positions or those who have power withing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the more I become convinced that this organization is an instrument of organized homophobia and that there are no rights, no equalities, no measures of freedom for gay men and women that are too small for them to let pass unopposed.

Mormons Don’t Like You Much, Either

One of the common claims coming from the Mormon Church is that they love gay people and favor justice, they just have to protect the sanctity of eternal marriage. But three new polls taken in Utah suggest that this may be more rhetoric than reality.

First, the good news. Utah residents – only 2/3 of which are Mormons – do favor some changes in a pro-gay direction. For example, 56% of Utahns favor some additional legal protections such as hospital visitation and inheritance. And a poll by Equality Utah is claiming that majorities of Utah residents favor job and housing protection.

But that’s about where the good news ends. Of the polled Utah Mormons,

• 67% think you should not be allowed to adopt,
• 85% oppose civil unions,
• 85% think it was appropriate to urge members to donate time and money to Proposition 8,
• 58% think it was inappropriate for gays to protest outside the LDS temple grounds, and
• less than half think you should be allowed hospital visitation, inheritance rights, and job protections.

Not all positions that one might hold contrary to the interests of gay equality are an indication of bigotry.

But, seriously, hospital visitation? Inheritance?

Utah Gay and Lesbian Ski Weekend Victim to Prop 8

Normally gay and lesbian ski bunnies would have been shooshing down the slopes in Park City, Utah this past weekend. But organizers had to cancel the event. (Park City Utah’s Park Record”

One of the ski week’s organizers, John Harriot, a bisexual who lives in West Hollywood, Calif., said six people had registered for the trip. Approximately 50 would have signed up beforehand in a typical year, and 150 or so people would have attended.

While a reduction in participation might reflect a downturn in the economy, a full scale abandment of the trip of this sort can only been understood to be a reaction to Mormon support for Proposition 8. And more than most activism, this reduction suggests to me that there has been a fundamental core change in the gay community.

It is fairly easy to get gay bars, gay businesses, or gay organizations to join a community endeavor. But like any demographic, its much harder to get individuals to change their life habits. And when you’re taking away someone’s ski trip, you really need to be convincing.

But the passage of Proposition 8 changed us.