Buttars: Gays ‘greatest threat to America’

By Rosemary Winters
The Salt Lake Tribune

He called the gay-rights movement “probably the greatest threat to America,” likened gay activists to Muslim radicals and dubbed same-sex relationships “abominations.”

Now Sen. Chris Buttars finds himself in a familiar place: under fire amid demands he step down.

Last year, the NAACP called for Buttars to resign after comments he made on the Senate floor about a complex, school-funding bill, saying, “This baby is black. It’s a dark ugly thing.”

But Buttars kept his seat and won re-election in November.

“It is obvious that he believes he can say and do anything that he wishes without any consequences,” said Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP’s Salt Lake branch. “His words — as before — are despicable.”

Buttars’ latest remarks come from an interview with documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan that aired on ABC 4 this week. Buttars told Cowan the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community doesn’t want “equality, they want superiority.”

“It’s the beginning of the end,” the West Jordan Republican said. “Oh, it’s worse than that. Sure. Sodom and Gomorrah was localized. This is worldwide.”

On Wednesday, gay-rights activist Jacob Whipple, founder of the All For One Initiative, called for Buttars’ resignation from the Senate, urging supporters of the LGBT community to e-mail Buttars and Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville.

“He basically labeled my community as virtually the devil incarnate,” Whipple said. “I don’t think that he represents Utah any more. … Saying something so hurtful has no place on the Hill.”

Rep. Christine Johnson, a Salt Lake City Democrat and a lesbian, also labeled Buttars’ statements “hurtful,” adding she expects Senate leadership to address the remarks “in a responsible and timely manner.”

But Waddoups defended Buttars, saying the anti-gay comments did not violate any Senate rules. He suggested that Cowan, a former ABC 4 reporter, has a “vendetta” against Buttars.

“It’s just unfortunate in my mind that someone wants to continue to [hurt] someone by virtue of a person’s position on the issues,” Waddoups said.

Cowan, who is openly gay, countered Waddoups’ accusation.

“That is a cowardly attempt to direct attention away from what was actually said,” the filmmaker and Miami TV anchor said. “I believe the world that is now hearing the words of Senator Buttars will judge it the way they will.”

For his part, Buttars used a Senate blog to post his response to the latest outcry, reiterating his belief that “traditional marriage is the foundation of our civilization.” He also said he was “disappointed” in the manner Cowan released the interview.

Cowan conducted his interview with Buttars on Jan. 30, days after Buttars helped defeat the initial bill in the Common Ground Initiative, a legislative effort that would have expanded legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns. The Legislature has stopped the initiative for 2009, with a House committee voting down the final bill Wednesday.

Of that first bill, Buttars boasted to Cowan, “It lost 4-2, and I killed it. I’ve killed every one they’ve brought for eight years.”

Equality Utah, the advocacy group behind Common Ground, did not demand Buttars’ resignation Wednesday nor an apology.

“An apology would not rationalize nor take back his hurtful words and disrespectful attitude,” said board chairwoman Stephanie Pappas. “I can only ask that reasonable Utahns around the state reject this kind of damaging speech.”

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