The 1992 Utah Democratic Party Platform could only be viewed as a victory for Democrats determined to push the party toward "the Utah mainstream."
Likewise, the platform could only be seen as a crushing defeat to gay-rights activists and those advocating a much stronger pro-choice position on abortion rights.When all the votes had been counted, delegates to the 1992 State Democratic Party Convention had gutted a platform plank acknowledging Utah gays and lesbians and had beat back proposed changes to the party's carefully crafted pro-choice platform position.
The common theme? "We are the party for all the people," said Utah County delegate Chuck Carlisle. Said another, "We are the party of choice for all people."
Abortion and gay rights - two issues that clearly divided Utah Democrats - dominated the debate during the first day of the state convention Friday evening at Cottonwood High School. The convention continues Saturday.
Clearly, the most animated debate centered on the gay-rights plank. Most Utah Democrats were clearly uncomfortable with language that singled out one minority for special consideration.
Subsequently, the gay-rights language was voted out of the platform by a 208-188 vote - a vote that held up despite complaints by gay-rights advocates that non-delegates had improperly determined the outcome. The removal of the language prompted a chorus of boos and hisses from activists who had lobbied for weeks for the language.
The language that was removed included: "We recognize that gay and lesbian people are routinely the victims of discrimination in private and governmental employment such as the military, as well as public accommodations, housing, education, credit and government services such as arts funding, health care and immigration, and that they're disproportionately the victims of hate crime and substance abuse.
"We recognize that their partnerships, families and privacy are threatened by laws which don't recognize and protect their relationships. We also recognize that gay and lesbian youth are disproportionately the victims of homelessness, physical abuse and suicide.
"When one in three Utah families has a gay or lesbian son, daughter or parent, it's right that we stand with them in defense of their civil rights. We'll help end these problems by encouraging our government to approve protections against discrimination of gay and lesbian people."
As a compromise, delegates later added language to the platform encouraging the government to approve protections against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, economic status, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.
"A hollow victory, at best" said one disgruntled gay delegate. "I can't even call it that."
The vote came as a blow to the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats, which had begun flexing its political muscle after leading a fight in the Salt Lake County Democratic convention that defeated the re-election bid of longtime Rep. Ted Lewis, D-Salt Lake. Lewis had opposed a gay-backed hate crimes bill in the 1992 Legislature.
No less emotional was the abortion debate. Many Democratic delegates felt the party's platform went too far, others that it did not go far enough.
Platform language eventually approved by the delegates states: "Abortion is a deeply felt personal issue and there is not a consensus within the Democratic Party. However, a majority of Utah Democrats believe that reproductive decisions are profoundly personal and private decisions best made by a woman, her family and her doctor, not the government.
"The Democratic Party of Utah emphasizes the positive alternatives to abortion which, if implemented by government and private institutions, can reduce the need for abortions, address the health and safety concerns of women and ensure that more newborns will be children who are wanted and loved. The party is unified in its commitment to the creation of strong functioning families, in which each individual is able to develop his or her greatest potential."
Former Salt Lake Mayor Ted Wilson, who participated in the drafting of the platform, explained that the language represents a compromise designed to make the party's position "politically saleable" to all Utahns, even those who oppose abortion.
"There are areas in this state where pro-choice is not popular, and I want to see Democrats elected there, too," he said.