…Today, the first of a series of six bills — proposed by Democratic lawmakers and endorsed by gay-rights groups — faces the Senate Judiciary Interim Committee. The leadoff legislation would allow someone to name an unmarried partner as a designee in the case of a wrongful death.
Together, the bills make up the so-called Common Ground Initiative, which also includes proposals for a statewide domestic-partner registry, health benefits for gay couples and partial repeal of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The initiative marks a bold move in a state where the Republican-dominated Legislature has fought gay student clubs, stopped gay couples from adopting children and barred any domestic unions that would give same-sex couples rights traditionally granted to married couples….
Read the full story by Rosemary Winters in the Salt Lake Tribune.