Utah Activists Test Mormon Support for Gay Rights

Will Mormon Church stand by claim that it only objects to marriage?

By Gabriel Winant, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 11, 2008 11:06 AM CST

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Utah Activists Test Mormon Support for Gay Rights — Opponents of Prop 8 gather at City Creek Park Friday Nov. 7, 2008. According to police an estimated 2,000 protesters gathered near the Salt Lake LDS Temple. (AP Photo/Chris Detrick - The Salt Lake Tribune)

In leading the fight against gay marriage in California, the Mormon Church liked to say that it wasn’t antigay and had no problem with gay legal rights—just marriage. Gay rights activists in Utah have decided to test that claim, reports the New York Times, and gay Utah legislators are proposing an expansion of legal rights. “We are taking the LDS Church at its word,” says an activist leader.

The proposed legislation permits same-sex domestic partnerships, and expands protections for couples regarding health and hospital issues, housing, employment, and inheritance. The state senator introducing the legislation says that it adheres closely to what the church claimed not to object to. An LDS spokeswoman declined to comment.
(More Utah stories.)

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