It's a human rights issue, not a marriage issue.

That's how gay rights advocates frame the pending public and legal debate that began in earnest Wednesday over Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's domestic partner benefits push.

With a dozen members of Utah's gay and lesbian community looking on, Anderson signed an executive order giving city employees the opportunity to have their unmarried partners sign up for health-care benefits.

"It's done," the mayor said, dropping his pen.

But for some conservative politicians the fight has just begun. They reject the gay community's view of the city's order, saying it's part of a broader effort to one day elevate gay marriage to an equal footing with traditional marriage.

Anderson's plan was crafted so it won't cost taxpayers any money. The up to $113,000 in extra costs for the plan will be paid by individual employees through their premiums. Those higher premiums will compensate for the extra claims the city may incur, Anderson said.

With taxpayers financially unaffected by the plan, Anderson said there is little reason to oppose it. He encouraged other Utah cities to follow the capital's lead.

"This doesn't undermine the institution of marriage one bit," Anderson said. "Equality doesn't undermine the institution of marriage but strengthens it."

Opponents maintain Anderson's plan does affect marriage. Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, says the move is part of a broader, national push to strengthen gay rights though small victories, which will eventually establish the case law needed to elevate gay marriage.

"The mayor is a well-known supporter of same-sex marriage, as are some of the other people who have spoken out in favor of his actions," Christensen said. "There are national supporters of same-sex marriage who want to silence all moral and religious objections to same-sex marriage and then isolate certain proposals and make them look benign. This is the offensive line for a larger game plan."

Gay rights advocates insist there is no slippery slope. Those advocates feel the majority of Utahns want all people to have equal rights but at the same time don't want to give approval to gay marriage.

By framing the issue as a equal rights issue and leaving the issue of gay marriage out, they feel the political support exists to make the mayor's plan stick.

"This isn't about marriage," gay Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, said. "It's about a basic human rights benefit."

But while opponents have threatened legislation and legal action to thwart the order, Anderson's plan hit its first roadblock before he signed the order.

The Public Employees Benefits Program (PEHP) — the state agency that administers the city's health care claims — said this week that it won't administer the program to unmarried couples until it gets a court order ruling that the plan is legal.