ACLU hires S.L. gay-rights leader

Michael Mitchell, executive director of Equality Utah, has been selected to lead the American Civil Liberties Union's new national Marriage Campaign.

Mitchell said Monday that he will step down from his position at the gay rights organization on June 15. Mitchell was hired in August 2001 as the first director of the organization then called Unity Utah.

"I'm humbled and excited to take what we learned in our amendment fight here and take it out countrywide," Mitchell said, referring to a state constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage and civil unions. Voters approved the measure last November.

"Equality Utah and our community are stronger because of our amendment fight," Mitchell said. "It allowed people to tell their stories in amazing ways."

The search will start immediately for a new executive director, said Jane Marquardt, chairwoman of the Equality Utah board of directors. The board hopes to select a new executive director by the end of June, she said.

The ACLU's Marriage Campaign will use firsthand accounts of gay and lesbian families to step up the dialogue on same-sex marriage in areas where marriage amendments are pending, or where there are public debates on the issue, said Matt Coles, director of the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.

The goal, Coles said, is "to convince Americans it's not fair to exclude same-sex couples."

The campaign will also offer assistance to local campaigns fighting proposed constitutional marriage amendments.

"We were impressed with (Mitchell's) work, in not the easiest state in the country to be dealing with gay rights issues," Coles said.

Mitchell expanded the original Unity Utah PAC to three interrelated organizations, Marquardt said. That expand- ed the fund-raising base and the organization's mission be- yond political action to also include education.

"We just want to build on the work that's already started," Marquardt said. "As to our work in Utah, there's still a lot to do to convince people that (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people deserve to be treated fairly."

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