Comments about ‘Salt Lake County approves anti-bias laws’

Hurray.

This is needed.

Would you like to know why?

Well, on a local example SLC's own Discrimination report in July of '09 gives over 300 documented examples of discrimination due to sexual orientation.

This includes firing you from your job and evicting you from any rental property you may be living in, at any time.

On a national level over 13,000 men and women have been discharged from the US military due to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' A law that makes it punishable by dishonorable discharge to 'act' or 'make public' any type of homosexual conduct.

This, while America fights two wars.

On a very violent local level, David Bell and his gay partner were beaten in his home in S. SLC in July '08. His attackers accused him of taking they're child.

After the trail found Bell not guilty (one juror called the trail a 'waste of resources') there have been zero charges against Bell's attackers from the local DA, Lohra Miller.

These are not 'special' protections unless you count the peace-of-mind of knowing someone cannot discriminate or attack you because of who you date.

I'm sure the LDS church's endorsement of protecting gay and lesbians with these kind of ordinances helped give them the courage to do this.

Let's not forget the lesbian in FL who was denied access to the ICU by bigotted staff while her long-time partner died b/c she supposedly wasn't family. Laws like this will help real people in real situations.

I am so happy to see that there are only three posts so far and there is no bickering amongst people. Could this last?

brilliant!

I'll second that, "so happy"!! :-)

It's kind of sad that we had to make a law about this, it should be a no-brainer. But good thing it passed.

You have no right to work for me or live in my rental. We are now legislating thought. Hurray for us. Live how you want, you have that right. Please don't infringe on mine. Last I check I still had the right to hate, love, like or anything else.

'You have no right to work for me or live in my rental.' - 4:23 p.m.

I guess my response question would be, who does?

'Last I check I still had the right to hate, love, like or anything else.'

John, you can still hate.

It's just not as protected as you would like. You can no longer discriminate.

"You have no right to work for me or live in my rental. We are now legislating thought. Hurray for us. Live how you want, you have that right. Please don't infringe on mine. Last I check I still had the right to hate, love, like or anything else. "

Except that you cannot hate based on religion, disability, race, color etc. This just adds one more thing.

Lets just hope when you crazy people try to repeal this law, that the people who's protections you are taking away don't try to repeal protections based on religion.

This has nothing to do with legislating thought - you are still free to think how you want.

This is about legislating actions - something that all laws do.

You do not have the right to treat people unequally. If you have a bad employee or a bad tenant, whether they are gay or straight you can fire or evict them.

If you have a good employee or a good tenant and you all of a sudden find out they are gay, you cannot fire or evict them for that reason. (You also cannot fire or evict them when you find out they are straight - or when you find out they are Mormon - or if they have a mixed-race baby - or because they turn a year older - or because they become handicapped - or because of any of the other protected statuses.)

The government has an interest in promoting job and housing stability and in making sure people are treated with dignity - that is why laws like this are passed.

If you do not want to be bound by the law, you have a right not to own a business or rental property.

is still among the most basic of human rights! If one cannot control the fruits of his labor, he is a slave.

If I cannot control over who lives in my basement, then I will remodel the basement into a family room for our house. I have two elementray age school children and have high standards for the people I let share my house. Yes the extra income from the apt. is great, but at what cost if I have to rent to people I do not feel would be a good example around children.

Pagan,

Maybe Bell's neighbors didn't attack him because he was gay. They would probably have done it before he was caught with their crying, missing children, if that were the case.

So, do you think laws should protect only gay people from attack when they have missing children crying in their room? Or should it be equal protection?

I agree that people shouldn’t be allowed to get out of fighting by crying gay, but gays should have their own platoons, etc. where straights aren’t forced to shower with them. If we are going to call it a gender we should separate, as we do the other genders.

Many gays have singled out LDS for hate but LDS have often spoken in favor of gay rights, to work and live in peace, as all of God’s children should. This is not a “surprise” as some media propagates.
Also, most LDS I know feel gays should be allowed to visit partners in hospitals, etc. (but gays should talk to hospitals etc. instead of attacking LDS).

I still believe my daughter’s gay teacher shouldn’t discuss or display his homo-sexuality around children, or tell them he smokes, etc. and hope legislation will still prevent this.
Children look up to teachers, and often imitate even their unhealthy lifestyles. It is not a racial issue (although gays compare themselves to persecuted races and religions like LDS etc) it is a moral issue, like prostitution, siblings marrying, children smoking, polygamy, etc. And teaching it in schools and mainstreaming it increases the numbers of people who think they were born gay, although studies have shown that most gays, if not all, weren't forced into gayness by genes.

Gays are free to be monogamous, but if we truly care we will not promote this lifestyle by legally enforcing it through marriage.

"it is a moral issue, like prostitution, siblings marrying, children smoking, polygamy, etc."

Yet even as you defend the Mormon church for being so kind as to allow gays to live and work in peace you still manage to be incredibly condescending to gays. It's not that you consider it immoral, it's that you compare it to other things that actually do demonstrable harm to individuals (whether the health effects of smoking or the coercion and abuse often involved with prostitution, polygamy, and incest.) Consensual homosexual activity, on the other hand, has no such inherent negative effects (yes, there is sometimes abuse, there are STDs and the like - but they are hardly exclusive to homosexual relationships.)

"And teaching it in schools and mainstreaming it increases the numbers of people who think they were born gay, although studies have shown that most gays, if not all, weren't forced into gayness by genes. "

What most studies have shown is that homosexuality is the result of a combination of both biology and environment. So no, they weren't "forced into it" by genes, but it's still something that most had little if any control over.

@ Sammy 4:05

Why do we need laws on the books to prevent people from stealing? Why do we have consumer protection laws, anti-stalking laws and laws preventing people from texting while driving?

It's called human nature. The human nature we have to step over each other. The human nature we have to hate one another and be lazy in our actions.

Like you, I would love to live in world where we don't need to have laws like this on the book. But sadly, we're not there yet.

I think all a gay couple would need would be a power of attorney to go into an ICU or anywhere else for their partner. I approve that they should have these rights. As for mixed babies we have plenty and they are the best looking in our neighborhood. Still the Catholic priest scandal was mainly homosexual predation, not so much pedophilia. [I don't understand why they can't make celibacy voluntary]. I don't want to see gay boy scout masters.

OOo the children, the children. I have to protect my children from the evil gays that will indoctrinate my children. They are coming for my children, they have books with pictures, they have young men that live together. OoOO the children!

Give me a break, sounds like other agencies too me.

Do a little legwork people... there's this blind assumption that every victim-based/sob story is true and applies to Utah, but it simply isn't so.

The hospital visitation rights matter is a canard, and a relic of the past. There is no hospital in Utah that would kick out a gay man visiting his 'dying' partner. Ask around, you'll find that all the hospitals in this state have fairly liberal policies regarding this matter.

The fact is that for the last decade this really hasn't been a problem. Back when Reagan was President, and Aids was just being discovered, sure... but it ain't true anymore...