This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville, has almost hit the nail on the head ("Possible new tax-for check-off: Fight same-sex marriage," Tribune Jan 29). It is a great idea to let the citizens of Utah pay for the battle against gay rights. What he missed is it should be done 100 percent outside the taxed revenue steams.
Let's allow taxpayers to simply check a box that commits them to using some level of their refund to pay for this ill-conceived battle. The state should not engage in this defense of a patently unjust law until enough citizens have contributed to fully fund this crusade and not with my taxes.
It is a poor example of both "love thy neighbor" and "all people are created equal."
I have lived in Utah for 63 years. I thought I had seen it all. I was obviously mistaken. The low level of fairness of the conservative agenda on the majority party has hit a new bottom. This is about equality and justice for all citizens and their families. Not about someone's vision of a violation of their religious beliefs and rights.
Kent C. Overly
Draper