Sen. Chris Buttars called gay activists “the meanest buggers” and alleged they have no morals. America Forever, in full-page newspaper ads, compared gay men and lesbians to “druggies” and “hookers.”

Just words. No sticks. No stones. But such talk does hurt. It can leave emotional scars and, some observers warn, inspire others to inflict physical ones.

Utah hit a national “hate watch” list twice in recent weeks for headline-grabbing onslaughts of anti-gay rhetoric.

“It’s not the kind of America we want,” said Heidi Beirich, spokeswoman for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. “You can have a difference of opinion over somebody’s lifestyle but to put them in a position of threat — that’s going too far.”

The national civil rights organization monitors hate groups, such as white supremacists, and publishes “Hatewatch,” a newsletter and blog that spotlighted the comments from Buttars, R-West Jordan, and America Forever.

“The kinds of things they’re saying,” Beirich said, “can give credence to others who would like to take their actions further than speech, into the realm of violence.”

The FBI reports that in 2007, the most recent year of available data, Utah had nine hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias.

Not that those who oppose gay rights mean to incite violence.

 See Some fear anti-gay words will lead to anti-gay sticks and stones

Salt Lake Tribune - 

 

About 200 people attended a rally Friday at the University of Washington to protest an anti-gay marriage column that ran in the student newspaper, The Daily.

Protesters say language in the column, including a reference to bestiality, coupled with the accompanying image of a man standing next to a sheep, amounted to hate speech. But speakers differed on whether the paper should be censured.

Ana Mari Cauce, the UW’s dean of arts and sciences, talked about her own struggles coming out as a lesbian and the hurt she felt in reading the column.

“But the antidote to free speech is more free speech,” she said. “I am thankful that I am living in a country where everyone has the right to express their opinions.”

On the other hand, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) this week passed a resolution demanding the paper apologize.

However, the editor-in-chief of The Daily, Sarah Jeglum, said this week she stands behind the decision to run the column and isn’t planning any sort of apology. In a Friday column, Jeglum said she’d learned “Free speech is for everyone. It’s not just for the majority, and it’s not just for the minority.”

That difference of opinion, if not resolved, could lead to a showdown between the editors of the paper and the elected student-body representatives who sit on the publications board which oversees The Daily.

See Hundreds rally at UW against anti-gay marriage column in campus …
Seattle Times -