Snaps & Slaps

SLAP: The Salt Lake DA’s Office 

When it comes to the child kidnapping charges against David James Bell there’s a lot of heat and little light being generated in the Salt Lake Valley. As child abuse is an emotional and upsetting subject, this is understandable. But what isn’t understandable is the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office’s decision not to press charges against the people who attacked Bell and his partner Dan Fair. We’ve seen the photographs of their injuries, and we know at least five adults from the children’s household broke into their house and beat Fair with a television set, breaking his eye socket. We know that several beat Bell’s head into the pavement, making him lose the hearing in his right ear. And we know that the children were safe at home by then, just as we know Fair wasn’t charged with any crime. So we have a break in, an attack that wasn’t defensive and at least one completely innocent man (Fair was reportedly asleep at the time the children were found in the house) with extensive injuries. Something is wrong with this picture.

SNAP: Affirmation

It takes courage, patience and tenacity to attempt to dialogue with a church that considers gay sex to be sinful, and the members of gay Mormon support group Affirmation have more than a few handcarts of these qualities. Undeterred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ cancellation of an Aug 11 meeting to discuss how the church can treat its gay members better, Affirmation leadership held the meeting anyway, presenting their points of discussion to the press. Dialogue and persistence is often how change happens, and those who strive for them should be applauded.

SNAP: The Herald-Journal

A Logan newspaper runs a paid wedding announcement for a lesbian couple and refuses to apologize when angry readers whine about the traditional family and cancel their subscriptions. Now that’s what we call classy and courageous!