Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Utah lawmakers pass bill to protect gay rights and safeguard religious conscience

After years of disagreement about the rights of states, communities and the federal government to define marriage, two state legislatures have proposed different means to reconcile the conflicting interests of gay rights groups and proponents of religious liberty. In Oklahoma, H.B. 1125, which was referred to the state Senate on March 16, would create a system whereby the state of Oklahoma no longer issues marriage licenses but simply records the marriage. All marriages in the state would be considered valid to be recorded as long as they are “contracted by a formal ceremony performed or solemnized in the presence of at least two adult, competent persons as witnesses, by an ordained or authorized preacher or minister of the Gospel, priest or other ecclesiastical dignitary.” In Utah, lawmakers passed S.B. 296, which prohibits employment and housing discrimination based on “sexual orientation or gender identity,” and a companion bill, S.B. 297, which protects religious exemptions for clergy and religious organizations that are morally opposed to same-sex marriage.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

I use a motorized wheelchair and communication device because of my disability, cerebral palsy. Parishes were not prepared to accommodate my needs nor were they always willing to recognize my abilities.
Margaret Anne Mary MooreNovember 22, 2024
Nicole Scherzinger as ‘Norma Desmond’ and Hannah Yun Chamberlain as ‘Young Norma’ in “Sunset Blvd” on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (photo: Marc Brenner).
Age and its relationship to stardom is the animating subject of “Sunset Blvd,” “Tammy Faye” and “Death Becomes Her.”
Rob Weinert-KendtNovember 22, 2024
What separates “Bonhoeffer” from the myriad instructive Holocaust biographies and melodramas is its timing.
John AndersonNovember 22, 2024
“Wicked” arrives on a whirlwind of eager (and anxious) anticipation among fans of the musical.
John DoughertyNovember 22, 2024