This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

If a police officer publicly expressed hatred or bias against Muslims or gays or blacks or Latinos or Jews, you would expect that to be intolerable.

But what about Mormons?

That's what some folks are asking on social media after learning a Salt Lake City police officer is about to be promoted to sergeant several months after posting a tirade against Latter-day Saints on his Facebook page.

"If you've expressed support for the Mormon church in the last couple of days, I'll be deleting you," Officer Kevin Stayner wrote last November in response to the church's policy of not baptizing the children of same-sex couples until they become adults.

"I find their rhetoric offensive, their policies bigoted and their Christianity flawed," he continued. "If this offends you, good. You aren't a martyr for supporting that church; you're an [a—hole]. I spend enough of my time cleaning up the excrement of society; I refuse to tolerate it from my friends."

Stayner removed the post shortly after it went up, but not before several people commented on it and took screen shots to save it.

I tried to talk to Stayner, but the police department had its public information officer respond instead.

Detective Greg Wilking said the administration learned of the post and immediately took action. Stayner was interviewed and the matter handed over to the Human Resources Department.

Wilking said Stayner realized as soon as he posted the remarks that he had made a mistake.

Stayner had been on track for a promotion a year and a half ago, before the Facebook post. He has completed all the requirements for advancement, Wilking said. But social media protesters wonder if the officer still would be getting the job bump if a different religious or ethnic group had been targeted.

Wilking said such talk is speculation, noting the department reviews incidents on a case-by-case basis.

Stayner is the department's liaison to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. He also is a peer review officer, meaning that if police encounter personal problems, he is one of the department members designated to counsel them.

That presumably would include officers who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Speaking of Facebook • Shortly after the terrorist attack in Orlando, Fla., here's what a Utah Republican official posted on his Facebook page:

"Note to self: Avoid gay dance club next week."

That was from Doran L. Barton, a member of the Salt Lake County GOP's executive committee and the county's chairman for Senate District 13, which spans three counties and has a district leader from each county.

The senator for that district is Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, one of the Legislature's fiercest gun advocates who pushed for a holiday to honor gun manufacturer John Browning.

Legislative logic • Kara Edwards wrote to members of the House Education Committee recently to express her frustration about the added tests the Legislature has forced on students.

In addition to SAGE testing, she complained, her eighth-grade daughter had to take a long math final for her class because state law does not allow teachers to use SAGE as a final test on a student's grade.

The reply from Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain, asked: "Do you live in Saratoga Springs or Eagle Mountain?"

Her response: "I am writing to you [since you are] a member of the House Education Committee. Are you not on the committee?"

His reply: "Yes, I am on the committee. But I was elected to represent the voters in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain."

Her response: "The education committee makes decisions that affect the entire state. If you are not willing to represent all of us, perhaps you should step down from your committee assignments. You are the only member of the committee who has refused to listen to my education-related concerns."

Not only does the education panel make decisions that affect the entire state, but its members also have extra power in the decision-making process. They can decide whether education bills will even be considered by the full House.

In Lifferth's responses, he includes accolades given to him: The No. 1 ranking by the business-backed Utah Taxpayers Association with a 100 percent rating; a No. 3 ranking by the libertarian-leaning Libertas Institute with a 90 percent rating, and recognition by the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability as one of the nation's leading legislators.

He won't be in the Legislature next year, though. He chose not to seek re-election to the House to run for the Senate, but then dropped out of that race.

That may be bad news for the Utah Taxpayers Association, Libertas and the Foundation for Government Accountability, but it might be great for the rest of us, particularly the 99-plus percent of state's populace who don't live in Saratoga Springs or Eagle Mountain.