Editor’s Note: Fast on the heels of my commentary about the impending “mutual commitment” registry for Salt Lake City residents, Mark Alvarez, our regular Mexico City correspondent, makes a strong case for clarity on the issue of marriage equality. I add my unconditional endorsement.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made marriage equality an issue in his campaign […]

This weekend, I screened “A Very Natural Thing,” a 1973 film that was among the first commercially distributed films in the United States dealing with gay relationships. Directed and written by Christopher Larkin, it was positioned as the gay community’s answer to the iconic “Love Story” released in 1970.
The film — which despite its occasional […]

Editor’s Note: The Selective Echo is pleased to offer, once again, another column by Mark Alvarez, a well-known attorney and public figure in Salt Lake City, who is living in Mexico City with his wife, Lorena. Let me echo every word of this important column. It is a wisely articulated powerful statement that reflects what […]

It was dismaying to see Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City’s mayor, heed the advice of his police chief (Chris Burbank) on supporting a state senate bill, authored by Chris Buttars (whose racist rhetoric and homophobic bigotry with regard to other legislation should suggest the soundness of this piece of legislation), that would restrict the public’s […]

Editor’s Note: The Selective Echo welcomes once again Mark Alvarez, who’s been living in Mexico with his wife since last summer. He’s offered an interesting perspective on how the outside media are looking at Super Tuesday’s results.
In an increasingly interconnected world, “all politics is local” needs revision. As Mormons have united in support of […]

Going by last night’s numbers in Utah, Barack Obama’s showing here was impressive on many levels.
Overall, he received 70,373 (56.61%) votes, better than 22,500 more than Hillary Clinton, who garnered 39.19 percent of the Democratic votes across the state. Certainly, these numbers pale in comparison to the Republican primary where Mitt Romney did extraordinarily well […]