Apparently Utah State Senator Chris Buttars and his fellow homophobes in the legislature have some sort of blood oath or agreement not to go into public anti-gay rants; he made them all look bad when he said that gays are "probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of. Yep, the radical gay movement." He got a wrist slapping, but they wholeheartedly agree with him on the topic. The Deseret News reports:"I have to tell you publicly that most of what Sen. Buttars said - I agree with," Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said on the weekly radio program "Inside Utah Politics" on KTKK-AM. "However, my concern is that we, as a Senate caucus, had an agreement that because Senator Buttars has become such a lightning rod on this issue, that he would not be the spokesperson on the issue."Well, gee, why do you think Buttars made headlines around the country? It wasn't because of the LGBT community. That story blew up because the man is certifiable. We didn't make him say:Buttars violated that agreement, Stephenson said, adding that the comments undermined "everything we've done" in the last three weeks of the legislative session.
"It happened not because he said a lot of things wrong, although I don't agree with some of the things he said, but because he decided to be the spokesman again when we had decided, as a caucus, and he had agreed, that he was such a lightning rod, that it wasn't productive for him to be the spokesman on this issue," Stephenson said.
"I think the bulk of people in Utah agree with 90 percent of what he said," Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, chimed in on the radio program. "He is a lightning rod, and I'm afraid the gay community's using him a little bit to get more publicity."
In an interview with documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan, released by ABC 4 on Tuesday night, Buttars said the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community doesn't want "equality, they want superiority."And you can read and listen to equally deranged comments here. No, the real problem, Sen. Stowell, is that your slip is showing. You can't hide your side's hateful bigotry, because, well, you know deep down it's wrong, and to utter bile like Buttars shows everyone where you all stand. He's only a jackass with loose lips."It's the beginning of the end. Oh, it's worse than that. Sure. Sodom and Gomorrah was localized. This is worldwide," the West Jordan Republican said in the interview.
Besides, if you're correct and 90% of people agree with you and Buttars, why is there a need for the vow of silence?
Hat tip to Inside, Looking Out, which has the audio. They note:
Relevant segment 38:20 minutes in - be sure to listen to the end of that segment - particularly the caller. The entire clip may be worth a listen as well... just to get a sense of how clueless these folks really are...Don't forget to check the comments thread at the Deseret News. There are howlers in there. Share your favorites in the comments.
Meanwhile, in earlier related news, Utah tops states with the highest consumption of porn.
The biggest consumer, Utah, averaged 5.47 adult content subscriptions per 1000 home broadband users; Montana bought the least with 1.92 per 1000...Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's presidential election
Well, not incredibly new news from Gov. Corzine (D-NJ) on marriage equality, but it is new news on identification documents from his state.
From the NJ Politicker:
Over 800 people attended a gala fundraising dinner on Saturday for Garden State Equality, a gay rights organization that advocates same sex marriage. Tickets were between $225 and $1,000. Governor Jon Corzine told the attendees that he would sign a marriage equality law, saying he hopes he gets to do that in 2009.The Corzine administration also announced a new regulation allowing transgender New Jerseyans would to provide an affidavit of their gender identity to get the Motor Vehicle Commission to change the gender on their license to drive. In the past, the state had required gender reassignment surgery.
Both of these pieces of news almost make me want to move to New Jersey. 
Well, almost. I already have changed the M to an F on my driver's license here in my home state of California, but then again we don't have marriage equality yet in my home state -- as pretty much everyone knows.
It sure would be nice if we just had civil rights and equality evenly applied all over the nation for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, wouldn't it?
The court decided unanimously that a statue in a government park is a form of government speech, and is therefore not under the constraints of the First Amendment. But, the decision continued, there are parameters. "It's saying that a government that selectively picks monuments is government speech, but that right is not unlimited," said Casper City Attorney Bill Luben. "The government can't establish religion; they can't place monuments in and of themselves with the intent that they want people to follow that religion."
Here's some good news about the attempt by the Fred Phelps clan to place the horrible anti-gay monument depicted below in a public park in Casper, Wyoming.
US Supreme Court Rules Against Anti-Gay Westboro Baptist Church Pastor
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week affirmed the Casper, Wyoming City counsels decision not to allow anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas to place an anti-gay monument in one of it’s city parks, when the justices unanimously agreed Wednesday that governments receiving monument donations for public parks are not compelled to take everything they are offered.
[...]
Phelp’s monument stated: “Matthew Shepard Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God’s Warning ‘thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.’ Leviticus 18:22.
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