 | |
 | |
| Founded | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit 501(c)(3) |
| Location | |
Area served | Utah |
Key people | Troy Williams (Executive Director) |
| Website | equalityutah.org |
Formerly called | Unity Utah (2001–2004) |
Equality Utah is an American non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which is Utah's largest LGBT rights group based in Salt Lake City, Utah. [1] The organization is a member of the Equality Federation. [2] [3]
Equality Utah was founded in 2001 as Unity Utah and took its present name in 2004. [4]
In 2008, Equality Utah's Common Ground Initiative brought the group national attention. [1] 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." [1] In response, on November 10, 2008, Equality Utah proposed a number of bills to the Utah State Legislature affording Utah citizens those rights [5] 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. [6] [7]
In 2015, Equality Utah supported Utah State Bill 296, which amended the state's Antidiscrimination and Fair Housing Acts to ensure further protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill also provided certain exemptions aimed at protecting religious freedom. SB 296 was passed in March 2015 by a wide margin of votes in the state house and senate. The bill's success was attributed in large part to the official endorsement of the LDS Church. [8] Following the senate's vote on the bill, Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams praised the bill's impact: "This is a stunning, historic day. I couldn't stop crying through it. This says that LGBT Utahns belong in this state. We belong here and we are being woven into the legal fabric of the state.” [9]
In October 2016, Equality Utah and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a lawsuit against the Utah State Board of Education and three local school districts to contest a law prohibiting “advocacy of homosexuality” in schools. [10] (This law and similar laws in other states are often called “No Promo Homo” laws.) The lawsuit was the first of its kind in the United States and was filed on behalf of three Utah students. The plaintiffs argued that the law limited free speech and created a hostile environment for LGBT students. The lawsuit was put on hold to allow the state legislature to consider a bill amending the “No Promo Homo” law, [11] and in 2017, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 196, which removed the language prohibiting advocacy of homosexuality. The passage of Senate Bill 196 made Utah the second state to repeal a No Promo Homo law (the first being California). [12] Equality Utah celebrated the change, saying it sent “a positive message that all students are valued in Utah.”
Equality Utah is connected to two sister organizations: Equality Utah PAC (EUPAC) and Equality Utah Foundation. [13] While Equality Utah focuses its efforts on legislation and lobbying, EUPAC dedicates its energy to endorsing and electing candidates who are supportive of the LGBTQ community. Equality Utah Foundation concentrates on educating people to participate in the political process.
In 2016 and 2017, Equality Utah partnered with Wellstone Action, a grassroots progressive advocacy organization, to train potential political candidates for the campaign trail. [14] [15]
As teen suicide has risen in the state of Utah, [16] Equality Utah has focused its efforts on preventing such tragedies. In January 2018, Governor Gary Herbert announced the creation of the Teen Suicide Prevention Task Force. [17] The coalition is made up of elected officials, suicide-prevention experts, and community leaders. Equality Utah is represented on the task force, which has been charged with finding solutions to reduce the number of teen suicides in Utah.
Equality Utah hosts a number of signature events to fundraise and support the local LGBTQ community. Their regular events include:
Utah Constitutional Amendment 3 was an amendment to the Utah state constitution that sought to define marriage as a union exclusively between a man and woman. It passed in the November 2, 2004, election, as did similar amendments in ten other states.
Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families, & Friends is an international organization for individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer, intersex, or same-sex attracted, and their family members, friends, and church leaders who are members or former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Utah have significantly evolved in the 21st century. Protective laws have become increasingly enacted since 2014, despite the state's reputation as socially conservative and highly religious. Same-sex marriage has been legal since the state's ban was ruled unconstitutional by federal courts in 2014. In addition, statewide anti-discrimination laws now cover sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing, and the use of conversion therapy on minors is prohibited. In spite of this, there are still a few differences between the treatment of LGBT people and the rest of the population.
Scott Daniel McCoy is an American politician and attorney from Florida. A Democrat, he is a former member of the Utah State Senate, where he represented the state's 2nd senate district which comprises portions of Salt Lake City. He resigned from the senate in December 2009 to dedicate himself more fully to his legal career.
Mark Benson Madsen is an American politician and attorney from Utah. A Libertarian, he is a former member of the Utah State Senate, where he represented the state's 13th senate district in Utah, and Tooele Counties including the city of Lehi. Madsen is the grandson of Ezra Taft Benson, Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower.
All homosexual or same-sex sexual activity is forbidden by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its law of chastity, and the church teaches that God does not approve of same-sex marriage. Adherents who participate in same-sex sexual behavior may face church discipline. Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions, including those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same-sex marriage and all sexual relations outside an opposite-sex marriage, but all, including those participating in same-sex activity and relationships, are allowed to attend weekly church worship services. However, in order to receive church ordinances such as baptism, and to enter church temples, adherents are required to abstain from same-sex relations or any sexual activity outside a legal marriage between one man and one woman. Additionally, in the church's plan of salvation noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive exaltation unless they repent, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation. The church's policies and treatment of LGBT people has long been a source of controversy both within and outside the church, and a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members.
David Keith Nelson is an American activist for the protection of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. He founded or helped found several LGBT-related nonprofit organizations in Utah and helped direct others. His work with the Democratic Party encouraged many LGBT Utahns to serve as party leaders. His work as a legislative and executive lobbyist accomplished the adoption of several LGBT- and weapon-friendly state and local laws, rules, ordinances and policies, and the rejection of other legislation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Florida may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas on June 26, 2003, and same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In addition, several cities and counties, comprising about 55% of Florida's population, have enacted anti-discrimination ordinances. These include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, among others. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities in the state, mainly in Palm Beach County and the Miami metropolitan area.
Mormons Building Bridges is a decentralized grassroots group composed primarily of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who seek to improve the attitudes between members of the LDS Church and the LGBT community.
Kathleen Marie Kelly, known as Kate Kelly, is an American activist, human rights lawyer, and Mormon feminist who founded Ordain Women, an organization advocating for the ordination of women to the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kelly was excommunicated from the LDS Church in 2014. She is also a nationally known advocate for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The state of North Dakota has improved in its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in the late 1990s and into the 21st Century, when the LGBT community began to openly establish events, organizations and outlets for fellow LGBT residents and allies, and increase in political and community awareness.
The Equality Act is a bill in the United States Congress, that, if passed, would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service. The Supreme Court's June 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia protects gay and transgender people in matters of employment, but not in other respects. The Bostock ruling also covered the Altitude Express and Harris Funeral Homes cases.
Anti-LGBT curriculum laws, sometimes referred to as no promo homo laws, are laws approved by various U.S. states that prohibit or limit the mention or discussion of homosexuality and transgender identity in public schools. In theory, these laws mainly apply to sex ed courses, but they can also be applied to other parts of the school curriculum as well as to extracurricular activities and organizations such as gay–straight alliances.
Below is a series of timelines of LGBT Mormon history consisting of events, publications, and speeches about LGBTQ+ individuals, topics around sexual orientation and gender minorities, and the community of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although the historical record is often scarce, evidence points to queer individuals having existed in the Mormon community since its beginnings. However, top LDS leaders only started regularly addressing queer topics in public in the late 1950s. Since 1970, the LDS Church has had at least one official publication or speech from a high-ranking leader referencing LGBT topics every year, and a greater number of LGBT Mormon and former Mormon individuals have received media coverage.
Students identifying as LGBTQIA+ have a long, documented history at Brigham Young University (BYU), and have experienced a range of treatment by other students and school administrators over the decades. BYU is the largest religious university in North America and is the flagship institution of the educational system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Historically, experiences for BYU students identifying as LGBTQIA+ have included being banned from enrolling due to their romantic attractions in the 60s, being required by school administration to undergo electroshock and vomit aversion therapies in the 1970s, having nearly 80% of BYU students refusing to live with an openly homosexual person in a poll in the 1990s, and a ban on coming out until 2007. Until 2021 there were not any LGBTQIA+ - specific resources on campus, though there is now the Office of Student Success and Inclusion. BYU students are at risk of discipline and expulsion by the Honor Code Office for expressions of same-sex romantic feelings that go against the school's code of conduct such as same-sex dating, hugging, and kissing, for gender non-conforming dress, and students and faculty are still banned from meeting together in a queer-straight alliance group on campus.
In society at large LGBT individuals especially youth are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Though causes of mental health risk are complex, one oft cited reason for these higher risks is minority stress stemming from societal anti-LGBT biases and stigma, rejection, and internalized homophobia. A 2016 empirical study found a correlation between the percentage of Latter-day Saints in a U.S. State and the suicide rates of that State, surmising the reason was due to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' stance on same-sex sexual relations. However, the study could not examine what percentages of the deaths were LGBT persons or the percentage that were Latter-day Saints. A 2002 research report found a negative correlation in suicide between LDS Church youth members and nonmember youth in Utah, finding higher levels of religiosity appear to be inversely associated with suicide, though the study does not take into account sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. Other studies have shown that LGBTQ Mormons and former Mormons experience higher rates of certain mental health disorders that are positively correlated with suicidality than the general population. One Snowball sampling study of 1,612 LGBT Mormon and former Mormon respondents in 2015 found that involvement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and being single and celibate or engaging in a mixed-orientation marriage are both associated with higher rates of depression and a lower quality of life for LGBT individuals. A nonprobability sampling technique observed clinically significant symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder related to religious beliefs and experiences at high rates among affiliated and disaffiliated LGBTQ Mormons in the study. Many have stated the belief that LDS teachings have contributed to the suicides of LGBTQ members. For example, LDS historian Gregory Prince stated that by condemning homosexuality as "evil, self-inflicted, and impossible in postmortal existence" LDS church leaders have enabled harsh behavior by its members with the alarming number of LDS LGBT homeless and Utah's highest per capita teen suicide rate in the country manifesting the effects of this cruelty. A prominent openly gay member Mitch Mayne wrote in 2012 that his LDS mother told him it would have been better for her if he had been born dead than gay.
The Utah Medical Cannabis Act is an initiative to legalize medical cannabis that qualified to appear on the November 2018 ballot in the U.S. state of Utah as Proposition 2.
This is a timeline of LGBT Mormon history in the 21st century, part of a series of timelines consisting of events, publications, and speeches about LGBTQ+ individuals, topics around sexual orientation and gender minorities, and the community of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Civil rights in the state of Utah are part of United States constitutional law. Rights are granted to individuals are determined on the national level through the 13th and 14th Amendments in the United States Constitution and each state has the power to integrate and enforce laws about civil rights in different ways in their state constitution. Social and religious standards have impacted civil rights in Utah and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a major influence on legislature.
Fairness West Virginia is the statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization for the U.S. state of West Virginia. Founded in 2009 by Stephen Skinner, the organization is currently headed by Andrew Schneider and is headquartered in downtown Charleston.
