Sen. Chris Buttars, a man who has already made up his mind.
And why are Mero/Ruzicka/Buttars so terrified that gays may get some legal rights? It’s because they believe it’s one step toward legalizing gay marriage. Never mind that Utah already has a law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. They won’t bend even a little, and let these citizens, our own friends, neighbors, and family enjoy the legal protections they need when faced with the crises life doles out to us all.
The majority of Utahns polled say they want to see these rights granted. Contact your senator and representative to make your own wishes known.
From SLTrib.com:
Rather than “common ground,” Gayle Ruzicka and the Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance are touting “common sense.” And a Salt Lake City-based conservative think tank, The Sutherland Institute, wants Utahns to stand on “sacred ground” instead.
“The family is the central unit of society, and so our efforts in this regard are ultimately to protect the traditional family and protect marriage,” said Sutherland spokesman Jeff Reynolds. . . Next week, his group will kick off its Sacred Ground Initiative, a counteroffensive aimed at defeating the five gay-rights bills. . .
Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, and Reynolds both argue that granting any legal standing to same-sex couples — or even recognizing sexual orientations as classes protected against discrimination — could precipitate a court battle to legalize gay marriage.
That’s what happened in California, Ruzicka said, when the state’s Supreme Court decided gay couples were entitled to wed because they already had many of the same rights as married, straight couples. Last fall, the court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage was overturned when voters approved Prop 8. . .
[Ruzicka]– along with Republican Sen. Chris Buttars of West Jordan and former GOP Rep. LaVar Christensen of Draper — formed the Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance, a political-issues committee, to help pass Utah’s Amendment 3, which defined marriage in 2004 as solely between a man and a woman.
This alliance now is drafting a “common sense” rebuttal to the Common Ground campaign, Ruzicka said.
The fact that the Utah Constitution already prevents gay marriage makes California a false comparison, notes Carlson, who insists Equality Utah’s initiative is not an end run to sue for gay marriage.
Photo credit: Francisco Kjolseth / The Salt Lake Tribune
Cross-posted from OneUtah.org with slight revisions.
Filed under: Utah Legislature
