SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah state House approved a bill Wednesday night that allows county clerks to refuse to marry same-sex couples for religious reasons.
But the bill requires a county clerk’s office to designate someone who will marry gay couples if the clerk opts out. The House voted 66-9 Wednesday night to approve the proposal.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the measure just hours earlier, calling it a good balance between protecting religious rights while still accommodating gay couples who wish to marry.
Same-sex marriage was effectively legalized in Utah last year after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the state’s gay marriage ban.
Republican Sen. Stuart Adams, of Layton, sponsors the bill and said it guarantees same-sex couples will be able to find someone to marry them in each county.
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Equality Utah’s executive director, Troy Williams, said Wednesday that his organization is now neutral on the bill after Adams addressed their concerns.
“On principle, we don’t love the idea that clerks can opt out,” Williams told lawmakers, but he added that he likes that the bill guarantees same-sex couples will be able to marry throughout the state.
The bill also states that religious institutions have First Amendment protection from performing marriages that are against their faith or from providing services for same-sex marriages.
