This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Equality Utah applied enough legal pressure to the education system to essentially force it to change discriminatory "no promo-homo" laws.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for our adolescents. Suicide rates in Utah are consistently higher than the national average. Correlative data has demonstrated that LGBTQ youth are at dramatically higher risk for suicide than other groups.
Policies like this are put into place because of the values and beliefs of those who promoted, supported and enacted them.
This is a necessary and impactful step forward in the pursuit to protect Utah children, and it is not enough.
We all need to look for the messages we send that tell youth they are not okay exactly as they are. Kids need to know no matter what they do or who they are, they are loved unconditionally.
We must refuse to perpetuate messages that indicate our love is contingent upon their living up to our imposed standards.
Kids who exist under the umbrella of queerness will face enough judgment and discrimination from the outside world; they don't need it from their families, too.
Policies like "no promo-homo" will stop being enacted when they stop receiving public support.
Stacie Cottrell
Millcreek