Marriage measure dividing Utah race

Utah gubernatorial candidate Jon Huntsman Jr., a Republican, says he will vote for a "traditional marriage" amendment to the Utah Constitution this November and hopes it will pass.

Democratic candidate Scott Matheson Jr. says he stands with GOP Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and his own Democratic Party attorney general candidate Greg Skordas in opposing Amendment 3, adding that the issue is best solved through statutes, not a constitutional amendment.

In supporting the controversial amendment, Huntsman turns his back on legal advice given by his own party's sitting attorney general. Shurtleff and Skordas say the proposed amendment's language is flawed and Utahns should vote it down.

Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News Monday that should Utahns approve Amendment 3, as it is officially called on the ballot, he will work to pass complementary new laws that would allow "life partners" to have legal rights short of actually being married.

Huntsman calls this "reciprocal beneficiary" legislation — meaning that partners could enter into contracts, attend to the medical needs of their loved ones and so on. "Two people with mutual economic interests should have rights and privileges, such as visitation rights, medical decision-making."

Such legislation is needed, Huntsman said, even if Amendment 3 fails at the polls. "If I'm lucky enough to be elected governor, I'll be working with (the 2005) Legislature to see such laws enacted," he added.

Huntsman said in recent weeks — after Shurtleff, Skordas and Libertarian attorney general candidate Andrew McCullough all publicly opposed passage of Amendment 3 — he has talked with both backers and opponents of the measure, "legislators, those loosely affiliated with the issue and legal experts" to come up with what he believes is a reasonable approach: Pass the amendment now and then adopt new laws defining how the amendment is to be implemented.

Huntsman said that among others, he's personally talked with legal experts at Brigham Young University and the conservative Sutherland Institute in coming up with his "traditional marriage" strategy.

While opponents say the second part of Amendment 3 is a costly lawsuit waiting to happen — a lawsuit Utah may well lose in the federal courts — Huntsman says he's convinced that "we can have both — the amendment and new laws" that can stand up to court challenges.

"Nevada and Hawaii are working through this process now," Huntsman said. "And I believe we can do the same."

Matheson is the dean of the University of Utah's law school who sat on the state's Constitutional Revision Commission, which studies Utah's basic document and makes recommendations on changing it.