Senator Chris Buttars meet Harvey Milk.
In response to the senator's recent anti-gay comments, a Sandy man now wants to put a statue of the famous gay activist at the state capitol.
When Senator Buttars compared gays to radical Muslims and said gays represent America's greatest threat, Roger Carrier never thought he would hear a public official speak that way.
Roger Carrier: "When I heard Senator Buttars comments, I was disgusted and appalled."
To repair what he feels is Utah's badly damaged image, Carrier wants a statue built on Utah's Capitol Hill - a statue of gay activist Harvey Milk.
Carrier told ABC 4 News, "I thought that would help restore the reputation of the state of Utah that has been dragged through the sewer by Senator Buttars."
Carrier picked Milk because the slain San Francisco politician has become an instantly recognized martyr for the gay cause.
Carrier says, "If somebody wanted to set up an account to fund the memorial, I am willing to donate a hundred dollars of my own money."
Carrier, a retired teacher and now wed to the same woman for four decades, thinks gay marriage or civil unions are inevitable.
He feels the same way about a Milk statue at Utah's capitol.
"I know they're not going to put it up today or next year. Ten years? I think so."
Carrier applauds the governor for supporting civil unions.
Carrier thinks that - and a Milk memorial - can speak volumes about our state.
"I am doing this out of a sense of justice for the gay community and not just for the gay community, it’s for everybody."
In other words, Roger Carrier thinks a little Milk might do a legislative body good.
