Paul Mero

As candidates for Utah public office begin to position themselves for this election year, nearly all of them face the dilemma of the fallout from a new state campaign law, most commonly referred to as SB 54 or the “Count My Vote” compromise. The new law allows a candidate access to a primary ballot, circumventing Utah’s traditional caucus/convention system, through a reasonably easy signature gathering process. This new process was primarily designed by its authors to allow more seemingly moderate candidates to get around more ideological voices inside the Republican Party. It also places new burdens on political parties in the state to structure internal rules accordingly at risk of being stripped of official status. read more

By October 1987, the disease AIDS was still a mystery for the medical profession and for most Americans. AIDS gained a higher profile as it began to take the lives of several prominent people in the entertainment industry.

In Congress at the time, a representative from West Hollywood, Henry Waxman, was chairman of the House subcommittee on Health and Environment, the subcommittee assigned to look into the problem of AIDS. Waxman was a dedicated liberal and loyal friend of the entertainment industry. In October 1987, Waxman moved the first congressional bill to provide federal funds for AIDS research. read more

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and in those words we have no reason to doubt its broadest possible meaning. When He champions peacemakers He champions every attempt we make to be our better selves in the face of an increasingly uncivil and often vile world.

After several years of contentious debate, Utahns of the Mormon variety have been encouraged by their Church leaders to be peacemakers in the Culture War. In fact, they have been told that the term Culture War is a bit too aggressive itself. Instead, perhaps we simply lack love and understanding and with more of those ingredients perhaps we can peaceably heal many of society’s wounds. read more

The Utah Legislature soon will be in session and the controversial subject of medical marijuana will be front and center. On one side of the debate will be State Senator Mark Madsen and his bill to legalize certain marijuana products to relieve chronic pain. On the other side of the debate will be a Senate colleague, Evan Vickers, and a House colleague, Brad Daw. They will introduce an alternative bill that focuses more on the real science involved and less on pot-induced pain relief.

There is at least one more opinion in this debate – mine…and I say do nothing. Keep pot illegal. read more

I belong to a strain of conservatism I now christen the Naturals. Whether you have realized it or not over the years, you have heard me speak of this school of thought. You’ve probably heard me talk about the “natural family” and “natural law” as I’ve argued for freedom and against progressivism, both left and right.

My guess is you, too, are a Natural. Here are some of its characteristics. To be a Natural you need to believe in a personal God, a God from which you seek a personal relationship – you worship Him, you communicate with Him, and you seek His blessings and comfort. You also need to believe that He has a plan for you, a work for you to do, choices for you to make to conform your will to His. And you need to believe that we’re all His children – that we are literally brothers and sisters from the same divine parentage. This last point is important because of something Naturals call “commensuration” or the ability of every person to rationally see the same things and draw the same conclusions about the world around them. read more

On the heels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ new policy regarding the children of same-sex married couples, a state judge ruled that a gay married couple were not fit parents because of their same-sex status. Ruling on the three-month old child’s foster care status, Seventh District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen cited research indicating that children are worse off in the care of same-sex couples than in the care of heterosexual couples.

Of course the ruling has ignited a wildfire of protests across the nation. While this is a complicated issue, Judge Johansen is correct in his findings, even if politically incorrect in his ruling. But this problem is not Judge Johansen’s alone. The brunt of this problem sits at the feet of the Utah Legislature and the LDS Church. read more