Common ground on gay rights?

There may be some "common ground" for gay rights activists and the man behind the state's same-sex marriage ban, after a surprise house call turned into an hourlong sit down.

But that might not mean much on the Hill, despite a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates that shows a majority Utahns support expanding civil protections for gay couples. Fifty-three percent of those polled said gay couples should have death benefits, medical visitation rights and other benefits associated with marriage. The poll of 413 was conducted Jan. 15-17 and has a margin of error of 5 percent.

"We do have some common ground," said Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, who was visited by members of Pride in Your Community. The group came to Buttars' home with a loaf of pumpkin bread and hoping to discuss the Common Ground Initiative, a package of bills aimed at providing legal protections for the state's LGBT community.

"They introduced themselves and I said, 'Fine, come on in,' which shocked them," the state senator said, describing one member of the group as nervous. "I think I scared her."

Buttars, who co-sponsored Utah's 2004 same-sex marriage ban, said he and the group spent an hour talking in his study. "It was really pleasant. They didn't come in to attack me and that's usually how it works. And I certainly didn't come in to attack them."

One of those visitors, Eric Ethington, founder of Pride In Your Community, said they sought out Buttars in hopes that a "neighborly" approach might prove a more effective method of communicating.

"We definitely caught him by surprise," Ethington said. "He was just pulling into the driveway after grocery shopping … we walked up and introduced ourselves and told him we really wanted to talk about these issues."

Will Carlson, public policy manager for Equality Utah, the advocacy group behind the Common Ground Initiative, said a nationwide dialogue about gay rights has helped advance the cause in Utah. A poll commissioned by Equality Utah showed 63 percent of Utahns supported expanding civil protections for the LGBT community.

"I find it very encouraging," Carlson said. "I think this puts pressure on the legislators. They have an obligation to their constituents."

Buttars, however, said the common ground he found with LGBT activists may not include any of the bills in the package, which he said he had yet to read. But he said he's not willing to repeal any part of the marriage amendment.