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Candidates are courting gay, lesbian vote in Salt Lake City

I am perplexed by these candidates. This is Salt Lake City Utah - founded by conservative, righteous Latter-Day Saints who are opposed to almost everything these candidates are supporting. What is going on here? Will these people actually be elected? Is there a candidate who represents the high moral standard of the majority of the community? You're not going to allow these people to hijack your city's leadership are you?

Let's all pander to the least common denominator. Dems shouldn't be proud of themselves.

As a general rule when candidates talk of "equal rights" what they really mean is discrimination in favor of some individuals and discrimination against others, typically against what economist Paul Craig Roberts called WHAM's - white heterosexual able-bodied men. So of you live in SLC and are one of Roberts' WHAM's expect to line up behind just about everybody when looking for a job at the city or any busineses which does business with the city.

It is time canditates spent more time in the real issues economy, immigration,crime, etc,value things that we as community feel are being left behind by Rocky and company. Stop spending money and used in instead in helping the less fortune population who really will benefit with better social programs.

When I hear these politicians speak of being advocates for gay and lesbians I am most disturbed. Stable and strong societies are and have always been built on one building block- the traditional family. The traditional family concept has worked for thousands of year. If it ain't broken don't try and fix it. When that building block is removed society stands to crumble in a hasty manner.

Its nice to see that progressive voters who want to see our city set a shining example for the rest of Utah have several candidates to choose from. It has been very encouraging to see equality for all as just one more plank in the well-thought out platforms of many of the hopefuls. Does their recognition of the inequalities enacted into law by our legislature somehow negate their other planks of better economic incentives to develop downtown, beautification efforts to struggling neighborhoods, and running daily operations ethically and openly? Not in the slightest. Looking forward to the election.

Salt Lake has a large gay and lesbian population. It is only appropriate that candidates recognize them as basic buidling blocks of Salt Lake's society. Salt Lake is majority non-Mormon and non-hyper orthodox Mormon. As a result when people speak of "tradition" or of the "founders", they need to recognize that the current population of the city holds values different from those that are assumed stereotypical for much of Utah. This is a progressive, pluralist city. And this fact is not new but is indeed traditional for Utah's largest city.

Look good people, it is all about the Golden Rule, Do Unto Others As you Would Have Them Do Unto You.
What is wrong with our world when intelligent folks like you are so hung up on rights for all?
The real problem is twofold 1. intolerance (Middle East, WW II ... and the rest of history, which has NOT worked at all, sorry Jake); 2. rampant consumerism (this is stealing your children's authenticity and turning them into Chruch goers three hours a week and commercial media consumers 50 hours a week.
Make a better world, teach your children skepticism, from the verb, "to see"

Now, unfortunately, others offer comments to the effect that GLBT's are less moral than the Utah majority. This is right wing rot. I advocate for equal rights for all INDIVIDUALS. Individuals have rights, groups to not. A GLBT individual has the same rights I have and vice versa. I don't wish to be linked with the other comments. Sometimes I think this state needs a good dose of libertarianism.

Following up on Lew's comment, I would argue not "less moral than the Utah majority" rather differently moral. Morality is not a scale on which there is a single high point and a single low point. Libertarian individualism proposes one of those scales of morality, with the individual and her freedom at the center (to avoid a vertical scale); group based, collective standards also propose a morality with the group and its values at the center. It is true the individual is the basis of our law, but groups also come into play in notions of community standards. What is often forgotten in that mix of group versus individual is the need to avoid a tyrany of the majority and value the freedom of minorities, both as individuals and as groups.

Jake M- convince me that you didn't make all of that up, because it sounds like you did

It is a sad day indeed when Salt Lake City politicians feel that they must pander to everything that the people who built Salt Lake came here to get away from.

Anyone who thinks Salt Lake is a great city owes as much thanks to the gay community as the mormon community. Yes the church founded the city, but lds is not a characteristic of most current residents. The rights that detractors are scared of are revolutionary things like the right to be hired based on skills and experience instead of orientation. It is because people have been fired and evicted because they are gay that gay and lesbian utahns have been pushed into the city. Don't knock these candidates for supporting fairness. Knock those who haven't addressed it sooner.

It is unfortunate that in the English language nouns and verbs can sound the same. Let�s consider the phrase �anti-gay initiative,� which I heard on NPR the other day. It sounds full of animosity, doesn�t it? I mean, to be �anti-� anyone certainly doesn�t sound friendly or inviting. But you see, that�s where the noun/verb confusion comes in. I am not �anti-� people who experience gay tendencies. I am �anti-� the gay behavior. Every person believes that certain behaviors are wrong. I believe that homosexual behavior is wrong. But there is a difference between disliking the behavior, and disliking the person. Some people want to compare the gay rights movement with the civil rights movement. It�s a sure-fire way to get people to pay attention to their issue. Although it gets the blood running hot, it�s a poor comparison to make. The fundamental difference is that Black people had their opportunities limited by factors outside their control--their race and color, of which no one chooses, but we are born with. Homosexuals have their opportunities limited by the choices they make. What was the purpose of the civil rights movement? Opportunity. Gay people have the right to vote. They have access to the same schools and public facilities. They can have any job that they want. There is only one thing that they cannot have. And that is wide-spread public acceptance of inappropriate behavior, the epitome of that acceptance showing forth in a society accepting homosexual marriage.

Recently the mormon church finally put out a statement detailing the mormon church's stance on homosexuality. It's really quite the same as the chatholic church's view: It's okay to be gay as long as you stay chaste. Oh, and also you shouldn't 'act gay'. The title of the statement is 'God loves his children'. Quite apart from anything else, this shows the church has finally realized that there are homosexuals within its own fold. Wake up people. This is not something that happens only in other cities. These are mormons, christians, sisters, brothers, spouses, sons, and daughters. Anyone who has gone through an unsupportive family knows that this is not just a lifestyle 'choice'. GLBT people want the same things anyone else does, which includes the right to marriage, church, children, and political representation. Is that really so surprising? Honestly the republicans are slowly going to lose more and more if they don't start opening up to this demographic. And if you think you don't know anyone personally who is gay, I'd bet $100 dollars you're dead wrong.

Heather, your thoughts may hold some validity if we knew for 100% certain the age old question..Is it nature or nuture? If it is even remotely possible that these people are "born" gay, then all of your reasoning about choice are wrong.It would indeed be the case that their opportunities are limited because of when they were born in history.
I think the problem with most people is that they become obsessed with the sexual activity of gay vs. non gay, and refuse to divide the issue. If I dwell in any depth on the sexual behaviors of heterosexual couples, it may be equally disgusting.{ You mean to tell me that married couples actually do "that" after being married over ten years?) Gosh! If I dwell on the sexual behavior of the female praying mantis, it would be difficult for me to view the entire mantis for the benefits they provide in my garden.And the black widow spider ought to be exterminated from the face of the earth because of her courting habits.
When these people have entirely equal rights, distinct from their sexual orientation, the issues they seek to resolve will no longer seem so extreme. Perhaps then, we will in retrospect, begin to understand why they felt the opression they express.

Salt Lake City hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1971. Despite the perceptions of outsiders, the city is one of the more liberal in the country. And the gay community has a big influence in the city elections because they're more politically active than the average citizen.

The leadership committee of gayRMs, the society for gay and lesbian LDS return missionaries, has endorsed Ralph Becker for mayor as he has the most experience of any candidate in the race.

There are many weaknesses individuals may be born with, but this does not mean they should act on them. Is it okay for alcoholics to get drunk because it is genetic? No! The fact that homosexuality may be genetic, does not make acting on it okay. You cannot believe in the bible and just ignore the scriptures that state very clearly that homosexual behavior is wrong. You are being dishonest to do so. The scriptures are not editable to conform to personal beliefs, and god does not "change with the times" to make these behaviors acceptable.

Homosexuality is not a weakness akin to alcoholism. The scriptures are actually very ambiguous on whether homosexuality is wrong. Also, Jesus never said a single word against it and neither does the Book of Mormon. If the Book of Mormon was written for our day, why doesn't it mention homosexuality? Because god loves and accepts gay people just as he created them.