The first in a
series of LGBT rights bills to be introduced in the Utah
legislature has already died, reports the The Salt
Lake Tribune. In a 4-2 vote Tuesday, the senate
judiciary committee voted against sending a bill to
the Senate floor that would have amended state law to
allow financial dependents (beyond spouses, parents,
and children) to file wrongful death suits if their main
provider was killed.
Analysts said the
bill, introduced by out senator Scott McCoy, was the
least controversial of the pro-LGBT package of five bills
called the Common Ground Initiative -- a push
developed by Equality Utah after leaders of the
Utah-based Latter-day Saints Church said they did not
oppose some rights for same-sex couples. Members of the LDS
Church famously contributed an estimated $20-plus
million to pass Proposition 8, the California measure
that stripped gays of the right to marry.
The early
legislative defeat could augur poorly for the rest of the
series. "The very fact that this didn't even get out of
senate committee ... is clearly a bad sign for other
parts of this initiative," University of Utah
political science professor Matthew Burbank told the Tribune.
Other pieces of
the initiative aim to create a statewide domestic-partner
registry and employment nondiscrimination protections for
LGBT workers.
During the
two-hour committee meeting, legislators and onlookers heard
speakers both for and against the measure. Opponents said
the bill would be a slippery slope toward granting gay
couples full marriage rights, even though the state
amended its constitution to prohibit same-sex
marriage.
Several gay
people and straight allies testified for the bill, including
a former U.S. marine.
"I'm very
invested in this country, which I love and put on a uniform
for and was willing to give my life to defend," said Jeff
Key, reports the Tribune. "If you put yourself
on the opposing side of allowing the liberty and freedom
that this country stands for, then you've put yourself
on the wrong side of history."
McCoy plans to
make another push for the legislation in 2010.
(Advocate.com)
