Equality Utah
Encyclopedia
Equality Utah is an American
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which is Utah
's largest LGBT
-rights equality
group based in Salt Lake City, Utah
.
In 2008, Equality Utah's Common Ground Initiative brought the group national attention. During the campaigns for and against California
's 2008 Proposition 8
, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) made statements that the LDS Church "does not object to rights for same-sex couples
regarding hospitalization and medical care
, fair housing
and employment rights, or probate
rights." In response, on November 10, 2008, Equality Utah proposed a number of bills
to the Utah State Legislature
affording Utah citizens those rights and asked the LDS Church to "stand by" those statements. On December 23, 2008, Human Rights Campaign
representatives delivered twenty-seven-thousand letters asking the LDS Church to support those bills; the LDS Church declined to comment on the matter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which is Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
's largest LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
-rights equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
group based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Background
It was founded in 2001 as Unity Utah and took its present name in 2004.In 2008, Equality Utah's Common Ground Initiative brought the group national attention. During the campaigns for and against California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's 2008 Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) made statements that the LDS Church "does not object to rights for same-sex couples
Same-sex relationship
A same-sex relationship is a relationship between two persons of the same sex and can take many forms, from romantic and sexual, to non-romantic close relationships. The term is mainly associated with gay and lesbian people...
regarding hospitalization and medical care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, fair housing
Fair housing
In the United States, the fair housing policies date largely from the 1960s. Originally, the terms fair housing and open housing came from a political movement of the time to outlaw discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and a broad range of other housing-related transactions, such as...
and employment rights, or probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
rights." In response, on November 10, 2008, Equality Utah proposed a number of bills
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
to the Utah State Legislature
Utah State Legislature
The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 Representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 State Senators...
affording Utah citizens those rights and asked the LDS Church to "stand by" those statements. On December 23, 2008, Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
representatives delivered twenty-seven-thousand letters asking the LDS Church to support those bills; the LDS Church declined to comment on the matter.