Calling The Christianist Bluff

Well, it served a purpose of a sort in Utah. The Republican leadership long insisted they were not anti-gay, that they were eager to find some legal protections for gay couples unable to marry, and were solely concerned with the "redefinition" of the word "marriage". And every single bill to add some semblance of protection for gay couples and people was killed. Today's hearing on a bill to give gay couples such things as hospital visitation rights was more than revealing:

Probably the most frustrating part for the bill's supporters is that HB160 obviously was dead before the House Judiciary Committee convened... Strikingly, few committee members bothered to ask questions, prompting chairwoman Rep. Lorie Fowlke to remark: "My, we have a quiet committee today." Rep. Keith Grover, R-Orem, idly surfed the Web on his laptop as unmarried couples told of their fears that they would not be able to care medically, financially and emotionally for "the person who matters to me most."

It's not about protecting marriage; it's about treating gay citizens and their relationships with contempt. At least Equality Utah has now proven that. And that is indeed a useful and clarifying thing.