Utah: Two More Gay-Rights Bills Killed

So much for the claims by the Mormon Church that it had no opposition to the enactment of certain legal protections for LGBT citizens of Utah. Obviously, the statements were lies and sought only to provide some cover for the LDS in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8. The proof: two more bills from the Common Ground initiative have been killed in committee in the Utah legislature - using the same tactics so loved by Virginia's anti-gay lobby. Even basic housing and employment non-discrimination protections are too much for Utah gays to expect. I'm definitely, never going to visit Utah. Yes, I admit that it makes me bitter at times that self-satisfied, self-righteous bigots don't even see us as human and entitled to basic protections. Oh, and yes, the "choice myth" so actively kept alive by James Dobson, et al, played a part in the bills' demise. Here are some highlights from the Salt Lake Tribune:

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Four down, one to go. The Utah Legislature snuffed out two more gay-rights bills Tuesday. After lengthy public hearings, House committees rejected two measures: HB288, which would have allowed same-sex couples and other unmarried pairs to adopt and foster children; and HB267, which would have protected gay and transgender Utahns from housing and employment discrimination.

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The final bill faces a test today. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. endorsed the gay-rights effort, including the bills that make up the so-called Common Ground Initiative. "We threw our support behind the initiative," . . . In rejecting the latest measures, opponents painted being gay as a "choice" rather than an innate characteristic -- contrary to a broad consensus among psychological and medical experts.

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"Adoption is not a right, it's a privilege. Those who choose alternative lifestyles suffer the consequences because they can't naturally produce between them," said Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, who joined a 5-1 vote to defeat HB288. . . . And on the anti-discrimination bill, Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka made a similar case against adding sexual orientation to existing fair housing and employment laws. "What we're talking about is choice -- someone's sexual choice," she told a House panel. "Why would we put into law someone's sexual choice? … This is not the right thing to do."

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Only one Common Ground bill remains: Rep. Jennifer Seelig's bid to expand protections for same-sex couples so they can visit a partner in the hospital, inherit property and make medical decisions.

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I'm not holding my breath in terms of the remaining bill. These cited reasons for killing the bills underscore the importance of ending the "choice myth" and one can only hope that the APA will soon ban reparative therapy and start yanking the licenses of those psychologists who engage in that witch doctor like practice.