All three candidates for Utah attorney general oppose a state constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage because of its potential negative effects on heterosexual marriage.

In a joint statement released Friday by the Don't Amend Alliance, Republican Mark Shurtleff, Democrat Greg Skordas and Libertarian Andrew McCullough announced their opposition to Amendment 3, on which residents will vote Nov. 2.

All of the candidates agreed that the second part of the proposed amendment, which forbids granting "the same or substantially equivalent legal effect" as marriage to other relationships, could also prevent heterosexual common law couples from having basic rights, such as inheritance, hospital visits or powers of attorney.

"This amendment goes too far," Shurtleff said in a statement. "It could forever deny to a group of citizens the right to approach its legislature to seek benefits and protections. This is a bad law and should be rejected."

Shurtleff did make clear that he opposes gay marriages, and supports the current state law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. His concerns center primarily around the second part of the amendment, and he urged voters to oppose the amendment so that he can work with legislators to draft a better one.

"Amend, yes; but not this amendment," he said.

Skordas said he does not see the need for an amendment, and would prefer that state leaders simply use existing law if they want to prohibit gay marriage — something he would do if elected. Should the amendment pass, he expects that it will result in "decades of litigation" that has little legal chance.

"A constitutional amendment is not a good idea," he said. "I would work with the Legislature. . . . when you do something like this, you create more problems."

Additionally, he said, any amendments to the state constitution should be carefully considered, not simply adjusted to adapt to current situations. "I take the constitution very seriously, and don't think it's the kind of thing we should amend for something like this," he said. "We have a law on the books that does what the amendment is doing."

Rob Latham, McCullough's campaign manager, said McCullough is "philosophically not opposed to gay marriage" and worried about the far-reaching and unintended consequences for all sorts of non-traditional relationships if the amendment passes. He was glad that all of the candidates opposed the amendment because it "takes the issue off of the table" and will help educate voters about the problems with the amendment.

"We have common ground with both candidates because of the second part," he said. "It goes well beyond gay marriage."