I could understand horing him if he had come out in support of gay marriage, but that’s not the case. He supports civil unions that don’t even provide all the benefits of marriage.

Our community needs to stop praising people who advocate “seperate but equal.” Especially when the people don’t even advocate full equality.

Rather than do nothing to help gay rights, Huntsman’s words were like a tornado ripping through an entire establishment of taboos and dogmas. And he highlighted something very real – people 40 or younger in Utah tend to support at least fundamental gay rights that the Common Ground Initiative sought. That it was defeated was no surprise whatsoever, as most legislators were the conservative in what were already hyperconservative elections, and even the relative moderates of their constituents went ideologically unrepresented. The effect (or “damage”) had already been done – it was now starkly evident that Utah’s population was no longer a solid bloc on this issue, with a gradient that changed with the age of voters. LGBT rights in Utah has a good future, but it might take some decades for the famously long-living older generation to be unable to vote.