Gay-adoption bill stuck in committee

With just eight working days left in the legislative session, it appears a bill to allow same-sex couples to adopt could die without ever seeing a hearing.

HB318 continues to be held by the House Rules Committee, which controls which bills are sent to standing committees for hearings. Wednesday is the last day for those committee hearings.

"It's just not looking very hopeful," said Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake, sponsor of the measure to remove a prohibition against adoption and foster parenting by co-habitating couples, gay and straight. Currently Utah law only allows married couples or singles to adopt.

Rep. Mark Walker, R-Sandy, has as a member of the rules committee actively lobbied to keep the bill tabled.

"It really just comes down to my belief that gay couples shouldn't be able to adopt children," Walker said. "It's probably 180 degrees from my philosophical beliefs."

Walker points out that getting a bill through Rules is part of the legislative process, though it's rare for him to lobby to keep a piece of legislation there.

Houck said it's unfortunate the bill is being held because the impacted couples won't be able to testify before lawmakers, so "their voice is limited." A community rally at the Capitol had unsuccessfully tried to convince lawmakers to give the bill a hearing.

Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, said "the message being sent is it will not get a committee hearing."

The bill may not have had a hearing, but it did come up in the Senate during a recent hearing there on a bill sponsored by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, to bar Salt Lake City's new domestic partner registry.

During that hearing, Buttars had said, in describing his opposition to the registry, "Something specific to marriage would be say adoption. We protect that."

Buttars declined to be interviewed by the Deseret Morning News for this story.

Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, had at that time questioned Buttars' reasoning, noting that singles can adopt in Utah. McCoy led the campaign against Utah's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and domestic unions, raising fears that gay couples could be denied even basic benefits.

"We're not presenting civil union or domestic partnership bills," McCoy told the Deseret Morning News. "We're talking about little things in other aspects of our worlds."

Another bill in the House would have extended workplace discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. That bill was sent to interim study after a committee hearing in which some testimony raised concerns about extending rights to gays and lesbians. That bill would have added protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Will Carlson of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah says that's a victory because it allows continued discussion on the issue.

Meanwhile, Chavez-Houck says she's not giving up on the adoption issue, saying she'd like to continue carrying it for the community, saying "If they're not going to give up, I'm not going to give up."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com