Letter: Utah is defending the indefensible

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

As a nation, we seem to survive damage at the hands of some ethically and intellectually challenged persons who exercise power, elected and appointed.

President Nixon believed he was above the law. Sen. Joseph McCarthy provided us with a big scare. Justice Clarence Thomas proves that appointees to the nation's highest court have not always been of the highest caliber. Justices Scalia and Alito make no attempt to hide personal and religious bias.

At the state level, elected officials have also demonstrated varying degrees of education, ability, intelligence and bias. Right now, the state of Utah's top elected official demonstrates is both prejudiced and stupid.

Gov. Gary Herbert's determination to defend Utah's indefensible denial of the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples, by directing the attorney general he appointed to argue on appeal that Utah's prohibition be allowed to stand, is yet another notch in Utah's regrettable history of willful prejudice and small-mindedness.

With luck, we'll survive the last two years of the Herbert administration.

Billie G. Larson

South Jordan