Tag: Utah
Hatch Capitulates on Gay Marriage
Let’s face it: anybody who does not believe that gay marriage is going to be the law of the land just hasn’t been observing what’s going on.
— Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), interviewed on the Doug Wright Show.Utah Official Attacks Other Officials for Not Defending Anti-Gay Marriage Laws
For alleged officials, governors or attorney generals, to pick and choose which laws we’ll enforce, I think, is a tragedy and is the next step to anarchy.
— Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R), quoted by the Washington Post, blasting the decision by some governors not to defend their state’s laws banning same-sex marriage.
Utah Residents Evenly Split Over Gay Marriage
48% to 48%
Residents are now evenly split on whether same-sex couples in Utah should be allowed to get state-issued marriage licences — 48% for and 48% against — and 72% said same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions or domestic partnerships in lieu of marriage, according to a Salt Lake Tribune poll.
Utah’s GOP Governor Puts Hundreds of Legal Same-Sex Marriages on Hold
In California, after the Mormon Church in Utah effectively drove the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat — who is now the California governor — allowed the marriages of 1,800 couples to stand. Because of this, two classes of gay couples were created in the state: those who had legally married and those who were, as a result of Prop 8, prohibited from exercising that right. Prop 8 was later rescinded by court rulings.
(It should be noted that as governor, Schwarzenegger vetoed bills passed by the legislature that would have legalized marriage equality twice.)
Gov. Herbert’s decision to put a hold on the legal marriages appears to be motivated by politics — Utah is one of the most anti-gay states in the nation, which is saying a lot — rather than the law. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed yesterday that it is reviewing the decision.
