Gay-rights groups pressing forward

Amendment 3 passed with 66 percent of the vote Tuesday, and while those who fought against Utah's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage are disappointed in the election results, they do see a form of victory.

Michael Mitchell, executive director of Equality Utah, said the gay and lesbian community is organized, along with straight allies, like it's never been before, and "we're going absolutely to try to keep active."

In a letter to supporters Wednesday, Scott McCoy, head of the Don't Amend Alliance, which worked to defeat Amendment 3, said the foundation has been set for future efforts.

"We must not lose our momentum or squander the political and community respect we have earned," he said. "We must not let the dialogue be muted."

Mitchell said the attention is shifting to holding Governor-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. to task on his campaign promise to propose some sort of reciprocal beneficiary legislation, and ensuring the amendment is interpreted narrowly.

Mitchell said he also hasn't ruled out the possibility of a lawsuit against the amendment, which also prevents the recognition of any domestic union that is the same or substantially similar to a marriage.

Monte Stewart, co-chairman of Utahns for a Better Tomorrow, which worked to pass the amendment, said the state's position will now be strengthened if its marriage statute is challenged in federal court. He added that he has a "keen interest in a reasonable and sensible application" of Amendment 3.

The amendment's co-sponsor, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, said he'd be willing to consider reciprocal beneficiary legislation, if Huntsman does propose it. Such legislation would provide benefits based on dependency, not a sexual relationship.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he'll work with any lawmaker to craft any such legislation within the amendment's bounds, but said he didn't yet know whether such legislation would be constitutional.

Utah was one of 11 states that passed marriage amendments, and opponents saw their efforts to defeat the measures as a step in a lengthy civil rights struggle. Family values groups, on the other hand, said the election was a moral victory — for marriage and families.

Support for the state amendments ranged from 86 percent in Mississippi to 57 percent in Oregon. Marriage amendments also passed in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and Ohio.

Matt Daniels, president of Alliance for Marriage, predicted that the marriage measures are "a prelude to the real battle."

"Most Americans in states like your state, have no idea what the federal courts are about to do, when sometime after the election, lawsuits are filed," Daniels said.

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