Utah

In his third anti-gay bill of the 2011 Utah legislative session, extremist Republican LaVar Christensen has introduced legislation that would exempt anyone from local non-discrimination laws if they do it on religious grounds. [ Read more → ]

SALT LAKE CITY -- Extremist and anti-gay Utah state Representative LaVar Christensen has introduced House Bill 270, called the “Family Policy” bill. [ Read more → ]

Utah State Representative LaVar Christensen, the man who introduced and passed Utah’s 2004 Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage, has resurrected an old enemy of the LGBT community -- a bill that prohibit same-sex couples from making contractual agreements, such as wills. [ Read more → ]

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah State Senator Chris Buttars is proposing a new resolution designed to repeal the recently passed anti-bullying and non-discrimination policies created by the Salt Lake School Board. Buttars calls the policies a “program to bring down America.” [ Read more → ]

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake City School Board on Tuesday evening passed an LGBT inclusive anti-bullying policy, as well as a mostly inclusive non-discrimination policy after almost two and a half hours of debate. [ Read more → ]

The Mormon church handed out their new 2010 version of the handbook used by leaders in their church over the weekend. Some are saying their positions on homosexuality have lightened, but have they really? [ Read more → ]

The Mormon (LDS) church has announced that they have changed many of their policies towards homosexuality. At their leadership conference on Saturday, broadcast to church leaders worldwide, will be the new version of the leadership handbook. [ Read more → ]

We have lost another beautiful life. Colt David Hansen, 28, passed away Wednesday evening after a lifelong struggle against the Mormon Church which he felt never accepted him because he was gay. [ Read more → ]

The Mormon Church is trying to perform some sleight of hand, and hoping no one notices. On their online version of Boyd K. Packer’s hate-speech, they’ve changed some of the most critical words -– possibly in response to the national outrage against them. [ Read more → ]

An estimated 4,500 gay rights advocates gathered outside the headquarters of the Mormon church Thursday evening to protest recent remarks from a church leader that homosexuality is an immoral condition that can and should be overcome. [ Read more → ]

Ten U.S. states signed onto a legal brief Friday in opposition to same-sex marriage, claiming a federal court “exceeded its judicial authority” when it ruled that California's Proposition 8 -- the 2008 voter-approved ban on gay marriage -- was "unconstitutional." The amicus brief sent Friday... [ Read more → ]

Updated 7/26/10: Last week, Todd Ransom, a 28 year-old gay man from Orem, Utah, committed suicide. While it is unclear why exactly Ransom took his life, friends report that he struggled to reconcile his sexual orientation with his Mormon upbringing. [ Read more → ]

The Mormon Church has agreed to pay a $5000 fine for failing to report some campaign staff contributions it made in support of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure in California that outlawed same-sex marriage. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Church of Jesus... [ Read more → ]

[caption id="attachment_6776" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Johnson"][/caption] Rep. Christine Johnson, one of Utah's two openly gay lawmakers, will step down from her seat in the State House at year's end, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. "I'm not leaving because I'm giving up on the fight in... [ Read more → ]

On Friday, three Democratic lawmakers announced they are dropping bills -- until 2011 -- that would provide anti-discrimination protections, probate rights and adoption rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Utahns. In exchange, opponents of gay-rights legislation will drop any effort to prevent local... [ Read more → ]

Filmmaker Reed Cowan received two sustained standing ovations Sunday for his documentary “8: The Mormon Proposition,” a file which harshly criticizes the Mormon Church for campaigning in favor or California’s ban on same-sex marriage [...] [ Read more → ]

A controversial film on the LDS Church and gay marriage has sold out five screenings at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival -- making it one of the most popular and highly anticipated entries of the festival. Focused on the 2008 passage of California’s Proposition 8,... [ Read more → ]

Utah lesbian lawmaker, Rep. Christine Johnson (D-Salt Lake City) has announced she's a surrogate mother, carrying a baby for two gay men. In April, Johnson (pictured) offered to be a surrogate for the Salt Lake County couple, her close friends, after they expressed frustration with... [ Read more → ]

Salt Lake has its first openly gay city council member, reports KTVX-TV. On Monday afternoon, Stan Penfold (pictured) took the oath of office, in both a historic and emotional day. Penfold told ABC 4: "I was a little surprised I got kind of choked up.... [ Read more → ]

A man once on the Salt Lake City Police Department's "Most Wanted" list has been sentenced to probation and a year in jail for 2008 attack that SLC police have called a hate crime. [caption id="attachment_4188" align="alignleft" width="260" caption="Moi Moi"][/caption] Fa Junior Moi Moi, 21,... [ Read more → ]