This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Brooke Adams concludes her story, "Utah's action on gay marriages 'puts my kids in jeopardy,'" (Tribune, Jan. 9) with comments from Professor Lynn Wardle, who claims that those who rushed to the county clerks' offices to marry were "opportunists" seeking "headlines."
In his world, it is apparently unthinkable that those who do not share his religious and social convictions may still share his value for marriage and desire it as a positive good for themselves and their families.
Convincing yourself that people who have waited years, even decades, to marry are mere opportunists seeking publicity is a skewed and mean-spirited undertaking. I could feel sorry for people holding such a view if they were not dangerous. We have witnessed the ramifications of such thought repeatedly: identify a lesser "other," manufacture their defects, justify denying their rights. ...
It's more than distressing that a university professor can't engage the critical and moral intelligence to accept the idea that LGBT people seek marriage for all the same reasons people seek opposite-sex marriage, including that they value love, commitment and the public investment in those values that marriage confers.
Wardle's views indicate clearly the animus behind laws like Amendment 3, something I hope won't go unnoticed during arguments before the 10th Circuit Court.
Allison Fernley
Salt Lake City