Senator Buttars Demoted
February 23th, 2009
Buttars exercises his right to free speech, and fellow Senators defend Buttars' right to be homophobic
by Jacob Hodgen
Though Governor Huntsman has recently been the focus of national attention, State Senator Chris Buttars has just stolen the spotlight by comparing homosexuals to terrorists.
In an interview with openly gay filmmaker Reed Cowan, Buttars claimed that homosexuals are, "probably the greatest threat to America. It's the beginning of the end," Buttars ranted, "Oh, it's worse than that. Sure. Sodom and Gomorrah was localized. This is worldwide." With astonishing hubris, Buttars then asked, "What is the morals of a gay person? You can't answer that, because anything goes. So now you're moving toward a society that has no morals."
At the very least, whatever your political proclivities may be, I think we can all agree that Buttars has a terrible sense of timing.
Statewide, anxieties about same-sex issues are at an all time high, due to the continued fallout from Proposition 8, Governor Huntsman's controversial announcement that he now supports gay civil unions, and the death throes of the recently defeated Common Ground Initiative. All politicians gaffe, but Buttars was already on unofficial probation due to a history of saying particularly outrageous things, like when he made the following remark about a bill during a debate just a few weeks ago: "This baby is black, I'll tell you. This is a dark and ugly thing."
Fallout
Following reports about the scandal, an unrepentant Buttars wasted no time in pointing fingers at the usual scapegoats: "The media contributes to the problem," he said. "Increasingly, individuals with conservative beliefs are targeted by a left-leaning media that uses their position of public trust as a bully pulpit. This pattern of intimidation suppresses free speech."
Considering the fact that this story has caught the attention of all the local and most of the national news networks, we can only wonder how "intimidated" Buttars really feels from the likes of the big, bad Deseret News company and KSL. Both of these organizations ran front page articles about his statement, and it is brave indeed to imply that they might be "left-leaning" for doing so.
And Buttars is no champion of free speech, either. In 2005, he lobbied to ban gay and lesbian student clubs in Utah schools. In fact, he specifically cited that he did not want students talking about being gay as his primary motivation. He asked a Deseret News reporter. "If you are in the chess club, what do you talk about? Chess. If you are in the dance club, what do you talk about? Dance. If you are in a gay club, what do you talk about?"
Gay or straight, liberal or conservative, take a moment of pause and go ahead and place your palm firmly on your forehead now.
The fallout from Buttars' comments that I have summarized above are now echoed across nearly all of the local and many national new outlets. However, one thing that rarely makes it in the coverage is any attempt establish a frame of reference to explain both Buttars' comments and the local reaction to it.
As a result of the more than 15,000 angry emails sent to Senate President Michael Waddoups, Buttars was punished by removal from his position as chairman of the Judicial Standing Committee, but he was not asked to resign. Waddoups seemed reluctant to remove him and made sure to announce that he is not afraid to, "stand behind him as a colleague and support his right to serve in this state."
Considering the nature of the comments in question, Waddoups' move is bold and is one that deserves further inquiry.
Context
One Salt Lake resident told me that he even though he disagrees with Buttars, he doesn't think that he should resign, "I think it's obvious that he is kind of a moron. I just think these main-stream media stories are really lame. It's like they tell me I should be in a tissy because there is some idiot who actually says what he thinks on Capitol Hill. I'm sure there are people up there who think much more crazy thoughts than Buttars, but they just keep a lid on it. I'm really wondering why Waddoups now believes he isn't suitable to be on those committees after those comments. Especially after the press conference where he defended him."
I also spoke with Greg Otteson, who was a former Precinct Chairman for the Republican party in Utah. He helped offer me some context about the issue.
"He's old school," Greg tells me. "I think Buttars bases his views on his religious teachings, like most of the politicians do, but he is a product of a society before political correctness. Back in those days, you could say a lot more about what was on your mind without offending people."
But Greg does not defend him or his comments about gays being a threat: "When I walk down the street, I don't worry about a group of gay people inflicting violence on me. It seems like he has some sort of unwarranted prejudice. For the most part, gays have been exemplary about going through the proper political channels to voice their opinions."
Debate regarding the line between political correctness and free speech is not new to Utah. In fact, an aging billboard in Lehi on the East side of I-80 may have been foreshadowing the reaction many conservative Utahns feel about Senator Buttars' predicament for months. It features a burning American flag and dolefully laments, "Your country is dying from political correctness."
Reader Comments
Douglas Norman
Buttars AND Waddoups ought to resign from their respective posts. Taking one comment to the exclusion of the others where Buttars toots his deffammatory horn against gays, but also, on other occasions against Africans and illegal immigrants who are not involved in wrong doing and saying it is all right. This is more like hate speach than free speach. If he has problems representing gays and African Americans and the illegal immigrants causing him no trouble and who pay their taxes, and thus, the salaries of such bigots in state leadership, than they should depart from active leadership in Utah. Gays, Africans, illegal immigrants and others hated by Buttars just because "they are" deserve equal rights as those not subject to such deffammatory and humiliating treatment by Buttars. As for Waddoups, he is aiding and abeiting this hate mongering by Buttars. Hate speach is not free speach. FREE SPEACH is free speach because it is legal, unlike hate speach!
