SALT LAKE CITY (AP)
Feb 10 2009, 2:44 PM |
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Republican Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who governs one of the country's
most conservative states, supports civil unions for gay people, his
spokeswoman said Tuesday. "That's his position," said spokeswoman Lisa
Roskelley, declining to elaborate.
Utah has a constitutional ban on gay marriage and domestic unions.
A
gay rights group is pushing a series of bills this legislative session
called the Common Ground Initiative that seeks additional civil rights
for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Utahns.
One of the
bills in the initiative called for repealing the part of the
constitutional amendment that bans domestic unions, but the bill's
sponsor dropped the bill Friday after opposition from conservative
lawmakers who control the Legislature.
The governor's support
for civil unions was not made public until this week, when Roskelley
told The Salt Lake Tribune in a story that appeared in Tuesday's
editions that he supported civil unions and many of the ideas in the
Common Ground Initiative.
Roskelley confirmed Huntsman's position on the issue to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Huntsman
is the most popular governor in state history and is increasingly
speaking out on moderate issues such as global warming that make many
conservatives in the state cringe. For Huntsman, there is little
political risk because he has pledged not to seek a third term.
"We
are very grateful for Gov. Huntsman. We think it's fantastic. It also
highlights that people who feel very differently on marriage can find
common ground on areas to agree on," said Will Carlson, public policy
director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. "Utah has been
getting an unfair reputation in the national media as being anti-gay
because of those actions of a few individuals. This highlights that
Utahns have a diversity of thought that and that they can follow their
religious beliefs and still take care of others."
Huntsman, like 80 percent to 90 percent of lawmakers, belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Utah
has been targeted by some for a tourism boycott because of the Mormon
church's involvement in a recent California proposition that overturned
a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed same-sex marriage.
Following
the November election, the church issued a statement that Equality Utah
has made the focus of its campaign for gay rights in Utah.
"The
Church 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," the
church said at the time.
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