Why?

I often get asked why I have so many gay friends and I've answered that previously.

But, as a straight person, I often get questioned why I am such a strong advocate for gay equality. To me, it's a basic principle of human decency and fairness. As a Democrat, I am constantly fight for the underdog and part of me will always "fight the good fight."

I've done many things to further the equality of my gay friends here in Utah.

When I ran for my current position, I spoke to a group of "gay activists." I ran through my list of things I had done and paused before going on. I looked over at Jesse who had accompanied me to the meeting for moral support and finished, saying, "I haven't done all these things for glory or to get your support. I've done them because if I had made the choice to give up my daughter for adoption, I'd want it to be a same-sex couple. To me, it's not fair that my best friends (pointing to Jesse) do not have the same rights as me."

As I spoke, I began to cry and continued, "My friends are not bad people. They, like everyone here, would be great parents and deserve that--no matter who they are or who they love."

I looked around the room and saw tears in the eyes of so many people I care about who have been treated with disgust because of their sexual orientation. And that hurts me.

Gay people are not bad people.

Why do I do it? Why do I fight a fight that will go on for many years?

Simple: It's for her. When she looks at one of my boys she doesn't see an evil person, she sees a man who loves her and she loves them. I want her to grow up in a world that does not hate a group of people because of who they are.