Gay rights no longer

I hear that the Legislature has now officially killed the last of the four bills that would have given gays in Utah some modicum of rights in Utah.

This series of bills came out of the statements by Utah Mormons during the Proposition 8 battle in California, remember, claiming that Utahns had nothing against gays, they just didn’t want them getting married.

OK, gay activists said, we’ll take you at your word and ask you to approve some basic rights that don’t involve marriage: Non-discrimination, right to visit in hospitals, and so on.

And of course, the bills died.

Fact is: It is about gays, not about marriage. I heard several legislators on the radio this morning saying being gay is a lifestyle choice, and that’s so incredibly wrong it beggers understanding.

But that’s what hate does. It thrives on misunderstanding or, in this case, faith-based refusal to understand.

Very sad, but not surprising at all.