Scott McCoy is the fair-haired guy who fundamentally believes in the good that politics can do. Mark Barr is darker in tone, jaded by politics, but idealistic in his own way.

Together, they're probably one of the best things that every happened to the Utah Senate.

McCoy, a lawyer, has stepped down from his Senate seat to handle a two-month trial that would take him out of state for much of the 2010 legislative session. The departure ends a nearly five-year run as a Democrat, activist and the only openly gay person ever to serve in the Senate.

The two met in New York City, where McCoy would earn his law degree. One day, Barr invited McCoy to his place for dinner and, as he put it, "It was, OK, we're inseparable now."

They came to Utah when Utah Supreme Court Justice Leonard Russon hired McCoy as a law clerk. After that, he joined Equality Utah, which led to visits to Capitol Hill to promote legislation. In 2004, he led the organization's statewide campaign against a constitutional amendment that ultimately deemed marriage as only between one man and one women.

As it happened, the couple bought a house in Salt Lake's Central City and the Senate's 2nd District.

Early in 2005, Sen. Paula Julander, a Democrat, resigned for health reasons. McCoy threw his hat in and a day later, he won the delegates' vote.

"The establishment was kind of like, 'holy s---, who is this guy?" McCoy recalls with a laugh. "Then we were off and running, and 'The Gay' was born."

"The Gay," of course, is what GOP Sen. Chris Buttars, known for his homophobic rants, would call McCoy when he learned he'd be joining the Senate.

Oddly enough, it was McCoy and Barr who would bring light to the predominantly conservative Senate.

Right from the start, Barr accompanied McCoy to the Senate's social events. Then-Senate President John Valentine invited them to his annual dinner, and Mary Kay Huntsman invited Barr to her special "spouse" luncheon.

"Mark went to all of them," McCoy says. "He wanted to make them have to deal with ... this alternative family structure."

"It's easy to discriminate in the abstract," McCoy says. "It's a lot harder to do when the person you're expressing bias about is sitting 20 feet away."

Then McCoy joined up with Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, on a banks-versus-credit unions bill. Like Stephenson, McCoy voted with the banks, "and pretty much since then, Howard and I have been kind of buddies."

The two shared their perspectives on homosexuality and those of the LDS Church. The Stephensons had Barr and McCoy to dinner at their home, and took them on a tour of the new Draper Temple.

"His wife and kids know Mark and me," McCoy says. "I think that Howard has come a long way, really."

Since then, McCoy has forged collegial relationships with other conservatives, including Buttars and Curtis Bramble of Provo.

In fact, Stephenson and Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, invited McCoy onto their Saturday morning show on K-Talk AM 630, making him the "first openly Democrat on 'Red Meat Radio,' " McCoy says.

Stephenson says it's a good friendship, "even though we differ ... on same-sex marriage, the obvious kind of issues."

Still, he says, "I've gotten a lot of calls from conservative colleagues," and he can't remember when he's ever heard of so many people disappointed over someone resigning.

"We want somebody in that position that we can converse with in a rational way, rather than each side throwing napalm," Stephenson says.

So now Barr and McCoy will have a little more time together. Barr is working on a master's degree in social work at the University of Utah and works at the Volunteers of American Homeless Youth Center downtown. He's also planning to finish a documentary film on how LDS families can -- or cannot -- understand and embrace their gay children.

McCoy remains riveted by politics. He's contemplating a run for the U.S. House in 2012, when Utah has a fourth district. And he's eyeing the federal bench, where an opening has been created by Judge Dale Kimball's ascent to senior status.

McCoy, says Barr, "has this kind of spirit that's larger than life. He still wholeheartedly believes in the system, even in Utah. It's a childlike fascination, not naïve, that is untainted."

And, it must be noted, the two are going out in first place in the Utah Senate's fantasy football league.

pegmcentee@sltrib.com