Robert Gehrke: 'In the Utah Legislature, where thin skin and fragile egos rule, kindness is met with contempt, and power is wielded to retaliate against basic acts of decency.'
who told them how the treatments they and their children had received had changed their lives — and even saved lives in some instances
When the bill came to the Senate floor, freshman Sen. Nate Blouin stood to speak against it and read a message from his intern, Ari Webb, who is transgender, about how Ari had been directly impacted by the bill. You can imagine how hard it must have been for Webb at that moment, to see these Republicans debating a bill — already certain to pass — that would harm people like him while pretending to care about the impacts it might have.In the back of the chamber, Webb’s fellow interns stood together, along with a Democratic staffer, Bennett Johnson, offering support to their colleague.
Senate staff won’t say why, simply noting that in Utah an employee can be fired for any reason — or no reason at all.
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