Utah - All Gay-Rights Bills Killed

Well, if there was any doubt that the Mormon Church is anti-gay - as opposed to only trying to "protect marriage" as it alleged in explaining the Church's support of Proposition 8 - the debacle in the Utah Legislature should remove any lingering doubts. Every pro-gay bill, even fairly noncontroversial ones, was killed. Equally outrageous is the fact that Utah state senator Chris Buttars (R) stated that the gay-rights movement "probably the greatest threat to America," likened gay activists to Muslim radicals and dubbed same-sex relationships "abominations." In my view, it is jackasses like Mr. Buttars who are abominations and who are a mirror image of the Taliban. I guess Buttars is hoping he can spur some more murders of LGBT citizens. Here are highlights from the Salt Lake Tribune:

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On Wednesday, the Legislature dealt its final blow to this year's Common Ground Initiative, possibly the most expansive push for legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns in state history. The effort had the backing of popular Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., positive signals from the LDS Church, and, on most issues, the support of public opinion, according to a Salt Lake Tribune poll.

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Even so, a House committee Wednesday rejected Rep. Jennifer Seelig's HB160, which would have offered two, unmarried cohabiting adults -- including same-sex couples -- safeguards of inheritance rights and medical-decision making for one another.

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Despite Wednesday's defeat, the Common Ground Initiative is far from dead, said Mike Thompson, executive director of Equality Utah, the advocacy group leading the charge. Democratic lawmakers have promised to bring back their bills, with some variations, next year.
And activists scored some mini-victories. All the bills, save for one pulled by its sponsor, at least reached committee hearings. "The majority of Utahns support these basic protections," Thompson said. "We are not giving up on these issues. The Common Ground Initiative is not a 2009 legislative agenda."

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Equality Utah crafted the Common Ground Initiative in response to statements made by the LDS Church after passage of California's Proposition 8. Even though it supported the ballot measure, which banned same-sex marriage in the Golden State, the church said it "does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches." Despite those comments, the LDS Church did not endorse Equality Utah's initiative.