Utah Bill to Ban Gay Families?

A Utah legislator introduced a bill Wednesday that would require all publicly funded programs, laws, and regulations, to ensure they exclude families headed by gay and lesbian couples.

Rep. LaVar Christensen writes in the bill's language that "marriage and family predate all governments and are supported by and consistent with the Laws of Nature and God, the Creator and Supreme Judge of the World, affirmed in the nation's founding Declaration of Independence." It also says, "families anchored by both a father and a mother, fidelity within marriage, and enduring devotion to the covenants and responsibilities of marriage are the desired norm."

Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah, told the Salt Lake City Tribune that the bill could be used to "create a filter for public agencies and a way to target laws, services and funding that currently help single Utahns or Utanhs with families that differ from Representative Christensen's."