A sad day for Utah
February 10, 2005
A sad day for Utah Current mood: aggravated
Today the Utah State Legislature failed to pass the proposed HateCrimes Bill, stating that it wasn’t because of the fact that Gays,Lesbians and Transgender People were one of the groups protected bythe bill. They said all persons should be protected across theboards.
Horse Pucky!!!!!!!!! In a state that recently passed an admendment tothe state Constitution to prevent Gay marriage, this act smacks oftotal intolerance! Basically they are saying that it’s too bad ifsomeone from the GLT community is beat to death like Matthew Shepard,or if someone of color is killed by some neo-nazi nut case.
It’s just the same as if someone gets killed in a fight or in amugging gone wrong. Yes, those deaths are wrong and shouldn’t happenbut if someone is killed for the color of their skin or their sexualorientation and the punishment is not as harsh as it can be then weare falling back into the time of segregation and the Jim Crow lawswhen lynching a black man was common place.
In a time when science has all but proven that sexual orientation isgenetic, how can we as a people keep burying our head in the sand andkeep denying our brothers and sisters their civil rights? Where inthe Constitution does it say that the pursuit of happiness is onlyfor straight citizens? When the Constitution of the United States orthe Constitution of any state does not protect the rights of onesection of the country, then it does not protect any of us!
We have to stand together in unity and we have to be refused to beput on the back burner, we deserve these rights and we need tocontinue to fight the good fight until we prevail!
Dianne StoltzSocial Work
