For the Kids
How should one illustrate the suffering of children who live with same-sex parents? Maybe not by using photos of them with their dads or moms and looking perfectly content. The exploitation of innocents at an anti gay-marriage rally raised the hackles of Marina Gomberg, interim executive director of Equality Utah. "It is a disgrace to use our families for a misguided and debunked view of what is best for children," she said. The Deseret News took the story down, tweeting to Eric Ethington, formerly of Utah Political Capitol, that they wanted to get comment from the same-sex parents. When the story went back online, there were no such comments, although there was a comment from organizer Mary Summerhays, who said that the families' privacy had already been lost because the photos had been used in newspapers, and concerns should be addressed to the papers that had featured their stories "without my knowledge," whatever that means.
Delayed Response
Not exactly reason to rejoice, but at least the San Juan County road runners got a slap on the wrist for "conspiracy to operate off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles." San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman and four others had misdemeanor charges placed against them, not without some equivocation from the U.S. Attorney's office, which went to great lengths to say they respect differing opinions. Even Stephen Colbert noted that "great respect" when he compared how the government responded to Cliven Bundy and then to the Ferguson protesters. But Utahns are used to small victories. Gov. Gary Herbert now says he has promises that there won't be a new national monument if work on a public lands initiative continues. Is compromise possible? We'll see.
Tear It Down
So, how about a Zion Curtain around the Legislature? Or at least around retiring Sen. John Valentine's mouth? Valentine, the idea man behind the goofy curtain, now laments that he didn't make it mandatory for all restaurants in Utah. That's because everyone knows if you see someone mixing a drink, you'll want to jump up and grab it, or you'll see what fun it is to mix drinks and want to do it at home. Or something. No one has really figured out why the Zion Curtain is good or what it prevents, besides seeing whether the bartender is using the brand of gin you ordered.
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Stirred and Shaken
Mar 2, 2017
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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