Senate Minority Whip Ron Allen, D-Stansbury Park, said amending the Constitution is one step too far.

"I agree marriage should be between one man and one woman, and I voted for" the bill in the Utah Legislature clarifying that position, Allen said. "But our Constitution is our most trusted and sacred document that it doesn't seem right to amend it because of what is going on in the mayor's office in San Francisco."

Officials at the Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus agreed. Laura Bonham, co-chair of the group, said in a statement, "It is an outrage we are even considering amending our most important legal document to deny rights to people that love one another."

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Contributing: Bob Bernick Jr., Elaine Jarvik, Josh Loftin, Jerry Spangler

E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com