The Beehive State has surprised the nation more than a few times – Salt Lake City ranks as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the country, and we elected our first female state senator in 1896 – but we still have a long way to go. Utah ranks 47th in the nation the percentage of women in elected office. Our hate crime laws are vague and ineffective; recent efforts to strengthen the language have been only weakly supported. Local government officials have openly refused to retract racist statements.
Every Utahn deserves to lead a safe and productive life, regardless of their gender, sexual identity, or the color of their skin.
All the things the Utah State Legislature did to your life this year
This article originally appeared on Fox 13. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — What just happened? The Utah State Legislature just happened! Hard to believe it was 45 days ago that lawmakers opened the 2019 legislative session to protests over their plans to replace Proposition 3, …
With sights set on the Supreme Court overturning Roe, Arkansas and Utah pass 18-week abortion bans
This article originally appeared in the Daily Kos. Read it in its entirety here. Another day, and another couple of state legislatures decide to pass abortion cut-offs that supporters know won’t pass constitutional muster unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. This time it was Utah and Arkansas lawmakers approving …
Utah State Senate passes bill banning abortion after 18 weeks
This article originally appeared on 2 KUTV. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A bill that would make abortion in Utah illegal after 18 weeks of pregnancy was passed by the Utah State Senate on Wednesday evening. The initial proposal, House Bill 136, was filed by …
Utah lawmakers tee up a court fight with passage of an 18-week abortion ban
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Republican Utah senators were undaunted by the near-certainty of lawsuits and an uphill battle through the courts as they voted 23-6 along party lines Wednesday evening to ban elective abortions after 18 weeks of fetal …
Plan to send $53 million in state funds to West Coast export terminal project advances in the Utah Legislature
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. A bill that could direct more than $50 million toward developing a deep-water export terminal on the West Coast passed the House on Wednesday. Supporters of the legislation couched it as a way to bolster …
‘It’s a lot like The Hunger Games’: Utah education groups react to push to spend income tax money on things beyond public schools
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Brad Asay said he was “flabbergasted” and “perplexed” to learn Tuesday that the Utah Senate had voted the night before to allow spending some of the state’s income tax, earmarked exclusively for public education, on services for …
Commentary: Utah needs to reach across its urban-rural divide
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. In Utah, it pays to be part of the crowd. The state is the ninth most urbanized in the nation, with 90 percent of the people packed together on just 1 percent of the land — mostly along the Wasatch Front. And along the Wasatch Front, business is booming. According to the Utah …
2 bills restricting abortion to come before Utah lawmakers
This article originally appeared in The Washington Times. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Republican lawmakers in Utah have proposed two bills to restrict abortions, including a ban on the procedure after 15 weeks that would be among the strictest laws in the nation. The state should bar second-trimester procedures that “shock the conscience,” said Rep. Cheryl Acton, the …