Anti-bias law proves its merits

States are the laboratories of democracy. So are cities.

That first sentiment is gospel to the members of legislatures in many states, especially Utah.

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The second — if we really believe in government closest to the people — should be given equal weight. That hasn’t always been the case in Utah, as lawmakers who work themselves into high dudgeon over federal mandates seem insulted by the idea that a mayor or city council somewhere might have a good idea that is worth trying out.

But the proper attitude toward Utah’s municipal test kitchens comes in the form of a new push for a statewide law banning discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgendered persons in employment and housing.

It is a bill that has crashed and burned in the Legislature four times before, but might have a chance for passage this year for two reasons: One political and one practical.

The political reason is that at least one member of the Republican super-majority is willing to sponsor the measure. Rep. Derek Brown of Cottonwood Heights has joined with the bill’s previous advocate, Democratic Sen. Ben McAdams of Salt Lake City. The addition of one R to the list of sponsors can make all the difference in this body.

The practical reason, one that apparently motivated Brown, is that 13 cities and counties scattered around the state have already passed their own anti-discrimination ordinances and found the experience to be without any real downside. Communities from Grand County to Logan have banned anti-gay discrimination in housing and employment, and the sky has not fallen. There has been no outpouring of harassing or intimidating complaints or lawsuits.

Now that we have tested the idea that housing and workplace discrimination against gay people is bad, and that nothing bad happens if government makes that bad thing illegal, it makes sense for the same rule to be applied to the state as a whole. That positive experience is likely a reason why the idea has the support of 73 percent of all Utahns, according to a recent poll.

And it is why the Salt Lake Chamber last week noted that such laws work better if they are uniform throughout a state, and that being on record as a non-discriminating state makes Utah look good in the eyes of the international businesses we want to attract.

The argument that such a statewide anti-discrimination law would be an imposition on communities that don’t share those values doesn’t hold up. A state law is a state law, expressing the values of the state. And those values, as proven at the local level, should include a ban on this kind of bias.