Is Utah better? | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I recently read the article, "Is Salt Lake Capable of hosting Sochi's Winter Olympics?" (Tribune, Aug. 8). It made me wonder, if Russia is disqualified from hosting the Games because of its anti-gay laws, then what qualifies Utah?

Let's not forget, this is a state where discrimination against loving GLBT couples is enshrined in our Constitution and where innocent Utahns are protected against arbitrary eviction and termination only by a patchwork of courageous municipalities that have stood up to the state Legislature.

And, unlike Russia, the largest power broker in this state, the LDS church, has reached beyond Utah's borders to influence the democratic process in other states to the detriment of gays and lesbians elsewhere.

While Salt Lake City is certainly a shining city on the hill when it comes to GLBT rights and inclusion in society, this great state has far to go before we can stand on the moral high ground in the gay rights debate.

Aaron C. Garrett

Salt Lake City