Domestic partners, Round 2
Blogging from the Utah Legislature...
A fundamental battle between Salt Lake City and the Legislature reopened today with Sen. Greg Bell presenting a revised bill in committee that would bar SLC from creating a domestic partner registry.
Bell, of course, replaced the controversy dogged Sen. Chris Buttars as sponsor of the sensitive bill that would have impact on gay families.
Bell's changes makes the crux of the issue semantic. Mayor Ralph Becker wants the city to be consistent with governments nationwide in using the term "domestic partnership."
But those two words give the heebie-jeebies to conservative Utahns, who fear SLC's registry is a step toward sanctifying gay unions.
" 'Domestic partnership' in Utah, with some people, has become a loaded term," Becker explained later. "For Utah to be scared of that term, when it is the common term across the country, is a bit odd."
Odd or not, Bell's bill was approved by the the committee along party lines — the Democrats voted against it. Sen. Gene Davis and others want the bill to include a provision guaranteeing hospital visitation rights for financially interdependent adults (i.e. domestic partners). "This bill still needs a lot of work," Davis says.
Meanwhile, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson says she'll push for healthcare benefits for unmarried employees, including gays, as soon as the session ends.
(In photo, failed congressional candidate LaVar Christensen speaks against the bill. Behind LaVar is ventriloquist Ruzicka. If you look closely you can almost see her lips move.)
A fundamental battle between Salt Lake City and the Legislature reopened today with Sen. Greg Bell presenting a revised bill in committee that would bar SLC from creating a domestic partner registry.
Bell, of course, replaced the controversy dogged Sen. Chris Buttars as sponsor of the sensitive bill that would have impact on gay families.
Bell's changes makes the crux of the issue semantic. Mayor Ralph Becker wants the city to be consistent with governments nationwide in using the term "domestic partnership."
But those two words give the heebie-jeebies to conservative Utahns, who fear SLC's registry is a step toward sanctifying gay unions.
" 'Domestic partnership' in Utah, with some people, has become a loaded term," Becker explained later. "For Utah to be scared of that term, when it is the common term across the country, is a bit odd."
Odd or not, Bell's bill was approved by the the committee along party lines — the Democrats voted against it. Sen. Gene Davis and others want the bill to include a provision guaranteeing hospital visitation rights for financially interdependent adults (i.e. domestic partners). "This bill still needs a lot of work," Davis says.
Meanwhile, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson says she'll push for healthcare benefits for unmarried employees, including gays, as soon as the session ends.
(In photo, failed congressional candidate LaVar Christensen speaks against the bill. Behind LaVar is ventriloquist Ruzicka. If you look closely you can almost see her lips move.)
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