InterstateQ.com

LGBT youth rally against bill in Utah

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, approximately 300 people attended a rally yesterday planned by LGBT and straight allied youth against proposed legislation which would ban gay-straight alliances in Utah.

The bill, SB97, was sponsored by State Senator Chris Buttars and has not yet been passed by the Utah House. (See earlier posts, “These clubs are not about sex” and “Gay-Straight Alliances are a ‘local issue’“)

According to the article:

Under a clear sky, many people sported blue “equality” buttons and put yellow tape in the shape of an equal sign on their backs. Some carried homemade signs that read “I love and support my gay son” and “Equality - a fair and just Utah!” And flyers that read “Why is (Sen.) Chris Buttars obsessed with gay sex?” were put on car windshields around the Capitol.Â

Supporters said it was time that community members, regardless of sexual orientation, speak out against SB97, a proposed law sponsored by Buttars, that would give school districts the ability to eliminate gay support groups. The bill is waiting for a House vote.Â

Sen. Scott McCoy, a Salt Lake City Democrat and the state’s only openly gay senator, told the crowd: “This is family day at the Legislature,” adding that gay families deserve the same respect by lawmakers and protection by the law.Â

Do you know how I know things are slowly but surely headed in the right direction for America? I know because even in a state like Utah (which is probably the most conservative state) LGBT citizens and even LGBT youth are starting to organize for their lives, for their rights and for simple equality.

Our movement has been called the “Civil Rights Movement of the 21st Century”. Whoever said that: I couldn’t agree with more. Things are starting to get to the point here in America where equality will be unstoppable and very, very close at hand.

In a post on the South Dakota abortion ban issue, UNCG College Democrat Sam Bickett said something concerning the Supreme Court… but I also think it would apply to marriage equality and LGBT equality also (notice my edits/inserts):

Roe v. Wade [Marriage Equality/LGBT Rights] will come before the court sometime soon. While there are no guarantees, it is likely that Roberts and Alito will turn the court towards allowing state abortion [marriage] bans. But the Supreme Court is old. If we can hold it off until we get a Democratic President and a couple of good appointments, then it is worth it to try everything that we can.

While I was at the HRC Carolinas Gala in Charlotte I remember one of the speakers (although I cannot remember exactly who it was) talk about how our movement has very slowly started to snowball into a very big and largely supported movement as our goals begin to seem more attainable and reachable.

Reading the article about the LGBT students in Utah makes me smile. It makes me happy to see that students all over the country and in some of the most conservative areas are standing up for what they believe and feel. Their courage and conviction is amazing.

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