Comments about ‘Is Buttars' speech public, or private?’

That's rich.

It's very hard for an LDS individual to avoid embarrassment when members with public standing continue to vocally embarrass the church, while adding to the stereotypes outsiders have about Mormons. If it isn't a woman's decency group in Monticello trying to "protect" the youth from a 10,000 year old American Indian symbol that is just slightly anatomically correct, it's an Utah County Republican blaming Satan for illegal immigration. Now we have Buttars who knows nothing about homosexuality but that it is something to fear and be very afraid of. Compared to these folks the Islamic terrorists are folks you invite to your kids birthday party.
I would bless Buttars with a few gay grandchildren, so he may learn to feel empathy and conquer his fears. Gays have no control over their orientation any more than I can decide to become right handed instead of left, or change my eyes to green from blue. To beat up on them because we don't understand them and our religions tell us they are sinners, only adds the their pain and our misunderstandings, it doesn't "make them" change to heterosexuality. Its nice to be an Arizona Mormon

ummmm, yeah, you're comments aren't private when you voluntarily are giving an interview to known media members for a documentary.

But even in the Deseret News, political correctness wins out over the truth.

This goes to show how disjointed and disconnected from the public that our elected government representatives have become. They have legilsated the citizens voices out of government and no longer represent the people. They should be representing the people who elected them to serve as their spokesperson, not the state. Every elected official has the right to speak as citizens or representative of the state. Citizens deserve a transparent and open government with no restricitions. We need more public speaches from our representatives on issues being discussed or considered in to law. The secrecy of government is what is coming to an end, not free speech. We are tired of our elected officials making laws and determining our future with secret meetings and no information to the public. They owe it to the citizens to speak openly and with candor and the truth. Government and the citizens are responsible to each other and you can't have good government that hides itself and its discussions from the public. We have the right to know who is saying what and their intentions with our lives. Throw away your cloak and dagger government and give more public and open speaches.

Who cares? Don't we have more important things to have an opinion about?

Whether you agree or disagree with anything tht buttars said it is very chilling to learn that Senate leaders made a deal with Buttars to keep is mouth shut on this topic or lose committee assignments.
Gag orders? What's going on with Senate leadership? Who else have they made these deals with?

He said what he said in an interview with a NEWS REPORTER. You are a complete idiot if you think that means it was a private conversation.

These guys just don't get it. It might be OK for some jerk to hide behind bigoted remarks on the basis of "freedom of speech", but that misses the point. Utah and especially it's republican party should be ashamed that these are the people that represent them.

Buttars did nothing wrong. He probably was expressing his own views and the views of most of his supporters. People should not be punished for speech. I take offense everytime you speak out against homosexuality you are wrong and they want to end your career, ruin your business etc.... Someone needs to stand up for this man!

Gayle is at it again "A private interview" how could something be private and an interview? Did he think the film maker was keeping it only for his "private" viewing? Did he actually think he was being interviewed because he was just a random "private citizen" with a view? The line of reasoning by Gayle is at best naive and at worst completely dishonest.

This is a long-respected principle. Of course Buttars has the right to speak his mind. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't have to suffer consequences for revealing the skewed begotry in his heart. He is a public official who makes policy that affects all the citizens of this state. We should remove anyone in that position who is so backward and small-minded. Buttars' crime wasn't speaking--it was simply being a bigot. Speaking up, rather than hiding the hatred in his soul lime some of his comrades do, was simply foolish.

Regardless of whether Buttars' speech is public or private, it is about as meaningful as a bucket of gravel. He could not do a better job of offending people if it was his conscious goal. However, it is obvious that he constantly speaks and acts without any forethought whatsoever.

1) The man is full of hate and has no self control.

2) The fact that he is speaking as a paid representative of the people while the legislature is in session makes his speech public.

Hey, Bobkins, you would be blessing Buttars with gay grandchildren, but you would be cursing the grandchildren.

If he had said "________ have no morals" or "________ are worst than muslim extremist" etc., etc., we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

If a democrat has said these things about a protected class of people, the very people here who claim "free speech" here, would be screaming for the democrats resignation.

I would much prefer that all legislators spoke what they really thought instead of letting us guess at their position. I have no question now that Butters would vote down gay issues and if I like that idea, I will vote for him. Politicians like Obama don't speak truth so we wonder and hope about what he'll do. When our worst fears are confirmed, we wish he had spoken freely in the campaign so we could vote yes or no. I voted yes and now I wish he'd done more of what Butters did so I could have voted no.

I have been voting Libertarian, but if these Republicans actually grow a set, I might start voting for them again.

With all the voters in California voting in favor of prop 8, not a single Republican in the House voting for Obama's spending bill, and with Buttar's having the courage to voice his true feelings about the immoral act of homosexuality, I might actually vote Republican this next election.

I thought the days of courage and decency were over, and that they had been replaced by the thought controlling standards of political correctness and "sensitivity" training. It's good to see that people are starting to see these things for what they are, Fascist forms of thought control, brought about by extreme leftist who don't want any apposing views given any chances at all.

on our hands... We get into trouble when we have too much time and money on our hands.
Soon, becuase of the same meddling politicians, we will have no money and no time to discuss, what will become insignificant, as compared to food and shelter.

Buttared wrote: "Buttars' crime wasn't speaking--it was simply being a bigot"

Sounds like thought control to me.