SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Utah state senator was kicked off a judicial committee he chaired on Feb. 20, after comparing gay activists to radical Muslims.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, also told former local television reporter Reed Cowan, an openly gay documentary producer who now lives in Florida, that gay activists are “probably the greatest threat to America going down.”

As chairperson of the committee, Buttars frequently took pride in killing legislation that would have extended some legal rights to same-sex couples. He has long complained that gay people lack morals and are trying to indoctrinate others into a gay lifestyle.

“What is the morals of a gay person? You can’t answer that, because anything goes. So now you’re moving toward a society that has no morals,” Buttars said to Cowan in the January interview, which was about the Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage in California and the involvement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Buttars’ comments drew outrage from many in Utah. The Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest GLBT civil rights organization, demanded that Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, condemn his remarks.

The campaign says more than 15,000 e-mails had been sent to Waddoups by Feb. 20.

Waddoups didn’t condemn any of Buttars’ statements, saying he kicked Buttars off the committee primarily as a way to draw attention away from him. In a brief news conference Waddoups declined to say what comments – if any – Buttars made that he and other Republicans disagreed with.

“I want the citizens of Utah to know that the Utah Senate stands behind Sen. Buttars’ right to speak. That we stand behind him as one of our colleagues and his right to serve in this state. We think he’s a stalwart,” Waddoups said. “We think he’s a senator that represents the point of view of many of his constituents, of many of ours. We agree with many of the things he said. We may disagree with some of them; we may disagree with some of the ways he said it.”

Buttars’ comments first aired this week on the Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX, where Cowan once worked, and a copyrighted audio clip is posted on its Web site. Cowan is now a reporter at WSVN in Miami.

Buttars declined to comment to The Associated Press, but said he would not be issuing an apology.

In a statement released on the Senate Republicans’ blog, Buttars wrote he’ll continue to defend traditional marriage.

“I disagree with my removal as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, since my work there is entirely unrelated to my opposition to the homosexual agenda,” Buttars wrote. “Still, I’m a grown man and I can take my knocks. When it comes right down to it, I would rather be censured for doing what I think is right, than be honored by my colleagues for bowing to the pressure of a special interest group that has been allowed to act with impunity.”

Republican leaders didn’t plan on addressing Buttars’ comments publicly until they were urged to do so by Democrats who said they would force the issue on the Senate floor if necessary.

“What has transpired over the last several days has been extremely unfortunate. We have a Constitution that guarantees our freedom of speech. We’re hopeful that people will be more careful and sensitive about the things they say,” said Senate Minority Leader Pat Jones, D-Holladay. “I’m glad that there was some reprimand of Sen. Buttars.”

Buttars’ comments came as little surprise to many in Utah, some of who demanded his resignation.

Waddoups said he spoke with Buttars and that Buttars never considered resigning, nor did Waddoups encourage it.

This isn’t the first time Buttars has been called on to step down.

Last year, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People demanded he resign after it found a statement he made on the Senate floor offensive.

While referring to a bill he disagreed with, Buttars said, “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. It’s a dark, ugly thing.”

Buttars brushed aside his critics and won re-election in November.

Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said Friday he would sponsor a bill that would require diversity and cultural sensitivity training for lawmakers.

“I don’t see this as a confrontational move, but rather as an educational move,” Romero said.