...partly because, after many years of organizing a R.A.C.E. event there each year, Shirl Dickey has been forced to stop running races because of insurance and liability concerns. I thank Shirl for all of the work he has done for the R.A.C.E. events over the years. The 2000 Kanab R.A.C.E. event was my first canard fly-in, and I have learned a lot at those events and met some great people.
However, even if the Kanab events continue in some form, I will not be attending them, unless the City of Kanab rescinds an ordinance, passed in January 2006 that implicitly disapproves of any form of living arrangement that does not conform to its idea of "family values". Yes, folks, bigotry and theocratically-based attempts to turn the clock back have apparently taken root in Kanab. All I can say is that if the citizens of Kanab want to turn the clock back to the start of the 19th Century, then they will have to get used to living without much in the way of tourism, which wasn't big in the 19th Century either. Certainly I won't be spending a cent in that part of the world until they understand that theocratic bigotry is not a family value.
I signed the petition at whatsupwithkanab.com and also sent an email to the Kane County Tourist office informing them that I do not intend to visit the area again until the citizens of Kanab can collectively demonstrate that they understand the meaning of some of the fundamental principles on which the United States was founded.