Snaps & Slaps

SNAP: Southern Utah AIDS Walk and Dance

Or more accurately, a hearty snap to the three Southern Utah organizations behind it: Southern Utah Pride, the HIV/AIDS Task Force of Washington County and planned community Kayenta. The three have come together to sponsor an AIDS Walk and Dance to raise money for the Task Force, so these good people can keep offering free rapid HIV tests to locals. After the Southwest Utah Public Health Department stopped doing STD tests a few years ago (SLAP) the Task Force is practically the only entity in a five-county area who offers these tests. And since the Utah Department of Health didn’t give them any money this year (double SLAP!), they rely on private donations to do so. So, Task Force and friends, have a beatnik café’s worth of snaps on us. Your selflessness is what community is all about. And for Northern Utahns reading this – be just as awesome and write a check for an $11 kit for your family to the south. 

SNAP: Utah Legislature

Major snaps also to the Senators and representatives on the interim Business and Labor Committee for giving HB 89 – also known as the fair workplace bill – the hearing it deserves. Although legislators could have tabled the bill (which would grant gays and transgender people freedom from workplace mistreatment) without a second thought, as they did a bill aimed at letting gay couples adopt kids, they instead chose to think about the issue for awhile. To listen to facts and ask questions – including of openly lesbian bill author Rep. Christine Johnson. For a predominantly Republican legislature known for being less than kind to anything queer, this is huge.

Legislators, thank you! Keep up the good work and we may snap at you more often.

SLAP: Utah Marriage Ban

Yeah, we know it’s been around constitutionally since 2004, and legally even longer. Yeah, we know it’s not going to change any time soon, especially since our lawmakers can’t even stomach the term “domestic partners.” But the California Supreme Court’s ruling on May 15 just kind of reminded us how pissed off we are about it. Utah lawmakers! California did not descend into anarchy after its courts ruled that gay marriage was okay. It didn’t split off from the mainland or get hit by a FedExed tornado c/o God. Massachusetts has had it even longer without any trouble – except maybe for Mitt Romney’s whining. We’re a state that touts family values, including the importance of marriage. Think about it. Or do you really want some of our most creative, smart and fabulous citizens to flee to San Francisco?