More Hypocrisy from Our Legislature
Back in April Park City became the second Utah city to pass ordinances protecting members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community from employment and housing discrimination.
Unfortunately, Park City backed off from Mayor Dana Williams’ original goal and enacted ordinances similar to Salt Lake City’s with exemptions for religious organizations, employers with less than 15 employees, and renters with fewer than four rental units.
While this is certainly a step in the right direction, a step for which both Park City and Salt Lake City should be applauded, the politics behind these actions demonstrates the level of hypocrisy and bigotry present at the Utah State Legislature. Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, made it known in February that if city councils adopted ordinances that went beyond those passed in Salt Lake City it could result in “legislative attention” to those ordinances during the next session.
Yes folks, the president of Utah’s Senate, a legislative body that wasted much of the 2010 session passing ridiculous resolutions opposing big government, threatened city governments with “bigger government” involvement in their affairs if they chose to protect the civil liberties of their residents. I certainly understand why the Park City Council and Mayor Williams backed down from their original, more protective, ordinances, but I am not sure that I agree with them.
On the one hand, as Williams argued, the city has managed to enact some measure of protection from employment and housing discrimination. That is a good step forward. Also, as Williams mentioned in interviews, he would be remiss in his responsibilities were he to push for an ordinance that could result in legislative repercussions not only for Park City, but also for other cities and municipalities considering similar ordinances.
On the other hand, however, is it not time for someone to stand up to the self-righteous hypocrites of the Utah Legislature? It is the duty of the Legislature to serve the people and to protect the rights and liberties upon which this nation was (theoretically) founded. Utah’s Legislature serves no purpose but its own concerns, which are those of a group of bigots committed to the preservation of their own power. A group of self-righteous moralists that seems to have no problem with one of their members having a naked hot-tub party with an underage girl, but for some reason has an issue with the consensual sexual behavior of adults of the same sex.
I’m not surprised that Park City decided to mirror Salt Lake City’s ordinances. I honestly can’t even say that I’m disappointed that they chose not to lead the fight against Waddoups and his cronies. They were put in a difficult situation, and they made what they felt to be the best decision, not only for themselves and for Park City, but also for other governments considering similar action. It is that unfortunate “political reality” intruding again upon what is right and just.
Maybe, just maybe, some of Utah’s silent majority have paid attention to the actions of their elected leaders and have come to the same conclusions as I have: That the times are changing, and our leaders need to change along with them. We need representatives in our Legislature who understand the value of diversity and who are committed to protecting the dignity and liberties of our entire society.