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Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah says that gay and lesbian Utahns do not need legal protection against discrimination.

“Where do you stop? That’s the problem going down that slippery road. Pretty soon we’re going to have a special law for blue-eyed blondes,” Herbert said, adding “we get bogged down sometimes with the minutiae of things that government has really no role to be involved in.”

If one wishes to make the case that there is no discrimination against gays and lesbians in our society and therefore they are undeserving of legal protection, let them try.  Their arguments can be easily refuted.  But attempting to argue against legal protection for G&L on the basis that they’re nothing more than another minority group equivalent to, say, “blue-eyed blondes” is sheer idiocy.  It is no different than saying that all civil rights legislation should be repealed on the basis that African Americans are just another minority group no different than left-handed redheads.

Assuming we can agree that gays and lesbians are indeed discriminated against, what do we do?  If we leave it to people like Gov. Herbert, we do nothing.

“We don’t have to have a rule for everybody to do the right thing,” he said. “We ought to just do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do and we don’t have to have a law that punishes us if we don’t.”

We just “do the right thing”.  Simple.  Smart.  Actually, it sounds so good that it should be used in everything that governments of all levels now have their grimy little hands in.

Why not give time for deadbeat parents to change their awful ways and repeal the Bradley Amendment which forces authorities to take action against individuals for past due child support?  C’mon, seriously.  Should the government be in the business of protecting a bunch of kids who are still to young to vote?  Nah, of course not.

Why not give drunks time to recover from their infliction (however long it takes) instead of enforcing state DUI laws which range from removal of a driver’s license to jail time?  Why should pedestrians and drivers who choose to drive sober be singled out for special protection from government?  It makes no sense.   No one needs their government “bogged down sometimes with the minutiae of things that government has really no role to be involved in.”

Gays, lesbians, African Americans, children, women, employers, minorities and even you blued eyed blonds…you’re all on your own but worry not…’cause eventually, some day, everyone’s going to do the right thing.  You just need to be patient.  You’ll see.  It’ll all work out.

In the meantime, remember…a little discrimination never killed anyone.

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Larry King was a gay 15-year-old eighth-grade student who was shot to death at his school on February 12, 2008. He wore gender variant clothes, jewelry and make-up and had come out as gay at school. King was bullied and teased by his fellow students due to his effeminacy and openness about being gay.

King was shot twice in the head using a handgun. King was declared brain dead the next day.

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