Census: More gay households in Utah

Of every thousand Utah households, 6.6 are home to same-sex couples, according to a recent Census snapshot by the Williams Institute.

The number of gay households in Utah has increased over the last two decades. Data from the most recent Census shows 5,814 couples in Utah, up from 3,370 gay and lesbian couples reported by Urban.org, and 401 in 1990.

The top five cities in Utah for gay couples are Salt Lake City, with 1,290, followed by South Salt Lake, Millcreek, Midvale and North Salt Lake.

The census found that 66 percent of gay/lesbian couples in Utah are female.

Twenty-four percent of Utah gay couples are raising children.

Support for civil unions in Utah has reached 60 percent, according to Gayapolis.com, while support for gay marriage stands at 27 percent.

In 2008, the Utah-headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on marriage, titled "The Divine Institution of Marriage," restating its belief that marriage should be between one man and one woman but also supporting some rights for gay couples.

The LDS Church, the statement said, "does not object to rights regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference."

In 2009, the church supported Salt Lake City's decision to offer housing and employment protections for gays and lesbians

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