The climate is right to tear down the wall of discrimination

Mr. Waddoups (et al.), tear down this wall.

Please don't misinterpret. In using the words of Ronald Reagan regarding the Berlin Wall, I neither invoke nor compare Sen. Mike Waddoups to the image of Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of an "evil empire." Quite the contrary: I invoke the image of Gorbachev, friend of Reagan, who, in the case of the Berlin Wall, performed nobly and promoted a change for the better.

A similar opportunity is now before our lawmakers, with the Berlin Wall a metaphor in their consideration of anti-discrimination legislation.

The divisive, destructive wall of discrimination in Utah does indeed exist.

Roughly 50 percent of Utah's LGBT people experience discrimination. Almost two-thirds of those experience it weekly or even daily. Given a conservative estimate of 55,000 LGBT people in the state, that means more than 25,000 of our fellow Utahns are discriminated against, some of them on an ongoing basis, and many without recourse or remedy.

Those statistics are troubling. The real stories behind them are sad. Discrimination hurts everyone — those who experience it, their loved ones, those who commit it and society at large.

When I ask Waddoups to tear down the wall, I echo a fellow senator, Ben McAdams, who recently said, "It's time for Utah to adopt this."

Actually, it's past time. But we have something now that we didn't have before — the right climate.

When Reagan issued his challenge to Gorbachev, the two men had created a constructive atmosphere. Their relationship allowed Reagan to make a direct request, but from a place of mutual respect, not mere rivalry or confrontation.

So it is now with regard to anti-discrimination legislation, which faces a much different climate than it did just two years ago.

In 2009-10, the strife between Utah's LGBT community and perceived anti-LGBT alliances reached fever pitch, having continuously risen during the previous several years.

The LDS Church cooled things down considerably when it supported Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination measures, officially calling them "fair and reasonable."

The Legislature called a truce when dueling legislation and heated passion led to a moratorium on LGBT-related bills in a compromise orchestrated primarily between former Rep. Christine Johnson and Waddoups.