Utah, and the cities in Utah, managed to stay off the list of the 20 American cities with the highest rates of STDs.

Washington DC and New York weren’t as lucky, with thousands of people battling HIV, gonorrhoea, chlamydia or syphilis.

Gonorrhoea seems to be the most prevalent, with more than 580 000 cases reported in the US last year.

Of course, when it comes to sexual health, prevention is always better than cure, and your first line of defence if the sex is happening between at least two people, where at least one of them has a penis, is a condom.

Utah would like to stay off that top 20 list, and as a result, health officials worked hard on a campaign to make condoms more appealing as part of HIV-prevention efforts.

According to NBC, earlier this month, the state’s Department of Health started distributing the condoms with suggestive slogans and teenage humour to promote safe sex.

One condom cover, for example, spelled out “SL,UT” by using two-letter abbreviations for the state of Utah and its capital, Salt Lake City.

Another had a picture of a mountain and the slogan “Enjoy Your Mountin’.” Still another showed an image of a bed with the slogan, “This is the place.”

Then Governor Gary Herbert saw them, and they offended his delicate sensibilities.

Herbert’s office said in a statement, “The governor understands the importance of the Utah Department of Health conducting a campaign to educate Utahns about HIV prevention.”

“He does not, however, approve the use of sexual innuendo as part of a taxpayer-funded campaign, and our office has asked the department to rework the campaign’s branding,” the statement said.

You guessed it – he’s a Republican.

The Utah Department of Health was forced to withdraw the condoms. They then issued an apology:

Here’s the thing, though – Gary seems to be the only person who was offended.

Utah locals loved the campaign:

I’m with the majority here. The campaign was funny.

Simmer down, Gary.

[source:nbc]