Morality…..and morality:
The Utah Senate became engaged in a debate over homosexuality yesterday after some senators framed their defense of the anti-gay club bill (which the Senate passed) around the degradation of heterosexual morality.
A man who testified before a House committee earlier this week told the Senate that his niece had been “recruited” and “indoctrinated” by an alliance to speak in defense of homosexuals to her parents’ dismay.
“We allow the homosexual community to frame the argument . . . that these are nice friendly support groups. This is not true. You just heard that,” Buttars said. “To get the homosexual community’s agenda to pass, they have to get us to redefine our traditional morality completely. If you’re going to say homosexual behavior is OK, you’ve declared there is no morality.”
The statements offended Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City.
“I have never recruited a single person into the homosexual lifestyle because it’s not a chosen lifestyle. I didn’t wake up one day and choose to be gay, and I don’t believe . . . any of you woke up one day and chose to be heterosexual. It’s what you are,” McCoy said.
“It isn’t recruiting to say we recognize there are different kinds of people in the world and there are different ideas in the world and we should give respect and dignity to those people even though they’re different from us . . . and I take exception to the notion that being gay or lesbian is the antithesis of being moral. We are absolutely moral people,” McCoy said.
He added that the real moral issue of the session is to fund services for the poor, people with disabilities and education.
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A third attempt to get the “Origins of Life” bill passed, where public school science teachers would be dicated to teach the concept of “intelligent design” – or at least allude to it – was initiated in Utah’s Senate yesterday.
SB96’s House sponsor, Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, wants to substitute the bill a third time, taking out all references to the “origins of life” but still aiming to keep teachers from telling students they evolved from apes.
But that can happen only if the House Rules Committee agrees to put the bill up for its final legislative debate.
The changes didn’t win over school officials who oppose the bill, primarily because it treads on the state school board’s authority to set curriculum.
Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, last summer said he received parent complaints that children were being taught they evolved from apes, bringing into question their faith on creation. His SB96 has attempted to stop that from happening.
The bill’s Senate debates centered on the merits of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and were chock-full of religious references.
Opponents have feared the bill would open the door to teaching creationism or “intelligent design” — the idea that life is too complicated to be explained in public school by Darwin’s theory alone, which a Pennsylvania federal court earlier this winter struck down as unconstitutional. Ferrin attempted to take religion out of the discussion when the bill came to the House. His proposed substitute would erase references to the origins of life and tighten language to zero in on evolution.
Despite the proposed “changes” however, school officials still feel that it is unconsitutional and would interfere with the state board’s oversight of state curriculum. Additionally, this is yet another bill that legislates morality and stems from one set of religious beliefs. And again our legislators are spending time on issues that do not fund services for the people.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 