We learned a great deal about our state Legislature over the past several days. Unfortunately none of what we learned comes as a surprise as it continues the well-established pattern.
We learned that the Legislature is incapable of understanding basic math, notwithstanding Gov. Cox’s attempt to explain it to them. According to the governor, there are 75,000 student athletes participating in high school sports in the state of Utah. Just 4 of them are transgender and only 1 of them plays on a women’s team. The numbers are clear — this is not an issue.
More numbers for our math challenged representatives, according to the governor.
• The percentage of trans youth reporting suicidality: 86%.
• The percentage of trans youth having attempted suicide: 56%
These numbers take one’s breath away. Any human being with an ounce of empathy and compassion is shocked and saddened to read this and would be moved to help in any way possible. Of course, we also learned that empathy and compassion do not apply to our Legislature.
Here is what else we have learned. Our Legislature prioritizes:
• Ignorance over compassion
• Discrimination over inclusivity
• Fear over understanding
• Politics over humanity
How long will we as citizens tolerate this? How long will we allow the Republican Party, which continues every day to state more clearly they are the party of discrimination and persecution, to define the state of Utah? Are we not better than this?
Where is our Joseph Welch, who in 1954 said to Joseph McCarthy, “Until this moment, senator, I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”
I have asked my elected officials, Rep. Ryan Wilcox and Sen. John Johnson, to explain their vote to me. I have not heard back and do not expect to. Cannot defend the indefensible. Truth is that they, and others like them in the Legislature, are willing to promote bigotry and persecution in order to keep their seats.
Props to the governor and the few Republicans who were willing to stand for decency.
Michael Bowcut, Pleasant View
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/meu9Nkf
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