Becky Stauffer over at One Utah has posted this piece there on gay rights. Becky will also be posting pieces here at Utah Legislature Watch.
According to a poll (SLTrib), 56 percent of Utahns want to see gay couples have more rights where it comes to legal protections in their relationships. They stop short of condoning gay marriage, but there may be some real support for bills coming up in the next legislative session. The bills known as “The Common Ground Initiative” include the following five bills:
The Common Ground Initiative aims to pass 5 bills
During the 2009 legislative session, Equality Utah and other gay-rights advocates hope to pass five bills enhancing protections for gay and transgender people:
Fair housing and employment » Make it illegal, through two separate bills, to fire an employee or evict a tenant for being gay or transgender. Sponsor: Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City.
Probate rights » Allow an unmarried partner or other financially dependent relative to sue in the event of a wrongful death. Sponsor: Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City.
Domestic-partner rights » Create a statewide domestic-partner registry that would provide rights of inheritance, insurance and fair housing. Sponsor: Rep. Jennifer Seelig, D-Salt Lake City.
Repeal a portion of Amendment 3 » Eliminate the second part of Utah’s constitutional gay-marriage ban to avoid confusion about what protections are the legal equivalent of marriage. Sponsor: Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City.
My gay friends have long-term stable relationships. They own homes together, they share all the same ups and downs of any married couple. I find it impossible to fathom that anyone who might know these people would want to deny them every protection under the law the rest of the populace enjoys.
Of course, the real test as to whether or not any of these bills will pass or fail depends on what the Mormon church has to say about it.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Gay rights, lgbt issues
I try to put myself in the shoes of the LGBT community. How would I feel if I was fired for MY sexual orientation–for being heterosexual?? It makes no sense!