Senate suggests turning down heat, raising civility level

Following a tumultuous week on Capitol Hill, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution on Monday calling for civility among lawmakers.

SCR2 is sponsored by Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, who said that civility is "a matter of engaging in spirited, honest debate that focuses on the issue rather than the person."

He said his resolution is "not a call for all of us to agree, but it is a call for all of us to be civil."

Having some fun with Valentine, Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, introduced the resolution as a "stupid bill by a whacked-out legislator."

Although he was never mentioned by name, many senators seemed to find the resolution appropriate given the recent controversy surrounding Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.

Last week Buttars told a documentary filmmaker that he thought homosexuals were the greatest threat to the United States and compared them to Muslim terrorists. At the end of the week Buttars was stripped of some of his committee chairmanships as a result.

Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, asked to have the full text of the resolution read out loud for senators "given events of last week."

Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, said "we as a body and as members have an obligation to refrain from personal attacks and mean-spiritedness."

Romero also noted "with a bit of irony" a passage in the resolution calling for lawmakers to find "common ground" with each other.

A package of gay rights bills was introduced during this year's session under the banner of the Common Ground Initiative. None of the five bills in the package made it out of committee, and Buttars has bragged about being responsible for killing them all.

Valentine responded by telling senators that the term "common ground" is "not owned or trademarked by any one group, it is owned by all the people."

"I would suggest we have a little bit more to do in reaching common ground and civility," Romero said.