Last gay-rights bill is voted down by panel

The last bill in an unparalleled push for gay rights in Utah died in a legislative committee Wednesday.

The Common Ground Initiative's run ended Wednesday as the committee voted down a bill that would have given unmarried, financially dependent adults legal standing on matters of inheritance and hospital visitation. At this point in the session, with every bill having been voted down in a committee, it would take significant political changes to get them moving.

"With the economic downturn, to put it mildly, it has hit (people) hard," said Rep. Jen Seelig, the Salt Lake Democrat who sponsored the bill. "People are needing each other more and more to survive."

HB160 received support from couples — straight and gay — but ultimately did not win any Republican votes Wednesday.

Neal Patwari, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Utah, said the bill would provide security for his longtime partner.

"Her father was psychologically abusive," Patwari testified. "He refused her a basic care that a parent should provide. It terrifies me that, in the event that something should happen to her, the state could assign her father rights for medical care."

HB160, however, took hits from opponents, who said the bill was "unnecessary" and, as they argued with other bills in the gay-rights initiative, would pave the way for same-sex marriage in Utah.

Still, the Common Ground Initiative garnered support for gay rights never before seen in Utah, said Equality Utah Executive Director Mike Thompson.

The debate, at times, took ugly turns — including a full-page ad that ran Sunday in the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune disparaging homosexuality. The advertisement prompted rebuttals from advocacy groups and conservative lawmakers alike.

The Human Rights Campaign called the ad "outrageous lies attempting to dehumanize an entire group of Americans."

Legislators on both sides of the aisle also denounced the ad.

"I don't want to leave this room without expressing my dismay at the ad that was in the Sunday papers," said Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, after voting against Seelig's bill. "I thought it was deplorable and full of half-truths. And I hope that we grow in our respect and esteem for each other in the future."

Despite the knocks they took during the session, Common Ground supporters remained hopeful and resolute Wednesday.

"We're just breaking ground on Common Ground," said Thompson, adding Equality Utah plans to roll out its post-legislative agenda sometime next week.

The lawmakers who sponsored the bills said they will bring their bills back again next year.

"My timeline is not bound by a 45-minute committee hearing or 45 days of a session," Seelig said.

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