Eagle Forum vows to keep up 'pro-family' fight

SOUTH JORDAN — Last year apparently was a good year for the Utah Eagle Forum.

The influential conservative organization saw support for its bills on issues including abortion and education. Perhaps its largest victory was November's passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

And at the group's annual convention here Saturday, members and supporters vowed to keep fighting for the agenda they espouse, which they call "pro-family."

The Eagle Forum's influence has perhaps most noticeably been seen in recent fights over gay issues, including last year's Amendment 3 and a similar statute that passed in the Legislature.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, the Senate sponsor of both bills, called the Eagle Forum "the background team that was there through Amendment 3."

"The biggest issue that I will ever take on in my legislative life is protecting marriage between a man and a woman," Buttars told forum members Saturday. "The people who are working to take morals and values out of law are working harder than the rest of us."

Buttars also was critical fellow Republican, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who opposed Amendment 3 and has supported an expansion of hate-crimes laws.

"I don't want to spend a lot of time on this gay issue, but it's not going away," he said. "I don't know what the problem is with Mark Shurtleff, but whenever an issue with gays comes up, he's on their side."

In opposing the amendment last summer, Shurtleff said it was a bad law because it forbids granting "the same or substantially legal effect" as marriage to other relationships.

Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka agreed that Amendment 3 was a major victory for conservatives. She also said the fight continues.

"We have a long way to go. There will be lawsuits. . . . Those who want to live that lifestyle have pledged to fight for that," she said.

She said that and other gay issues are among battles the forum will fight in the upcoming legislative session, set to open later this month.

Chief among those, Ruzicka said, is opposition to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's vow to push for adoption and foster-care rights for same-sex couples.

The group also will fight against expanding hate-crimes laws, a long-standing bipartisan effort that continues to fail in the Legislature.

"I would not have a problem with hate-crimes legislation if it covered everyone," Buttars said. "It doesn't. It circles the wagons, particularly around gays."

Other issues Ruzicka vowed to tackle this year include: