SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 18, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Sen. Steve Urquhart on Thursday said the LDS Church has “effectively snuffed out” dialogue on a bill designed to better protect Utahns from hate crimes.
Urquhart, a Republican state senator who represents St. George, proposed State Bill 107, which would amend current Utah law by defining the groups of people protected, based on ancestry, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
SB 107 also would change statewide uniform crime reporting system in the Bureau of Criminal Identification to specify additional criteria to be reported regarding crimes that indicate evidence of prejudice.
Urquhart’s remarks were in response to a statement released Wednesday by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he is a member.
The LDS Church statement, released by spokesman Dale Jones, called for a “careful balance” when it comes to adding to Utah’s hate crime laws.
It also warned against new laws that would “alter the balance” between religious freedom and gay and transgender rights.
“The Utah Legislature achieved something extraordinary last year,” the prepared statement said. “Interests from both ends of the political spectrum are attempting to alter that balance. We believe that the careful balance achieved through being fair to all should be maintained.”
Urquhart said Thursday that under the present law, “there’s no legal distinction between painting a smiley face on a synagogue and a swastika on a synagogue. They’re both treated like mere graffiti.
“I apologize to the Jewish community and to the state of Utah that legal protections will not be provided against such threats because of a press release by my church,” he said.
SB 107 passed through committee last week and could be discussed on the state Senate floor as early as next week.
Among the groups that have stated their support for SB 107 are the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, the Utah Sentencing Commission, the ACLU, NAACP, First Baptist Church, the Episcopal Diocese, the Catholic Diocese, and Utah Coaliton of La Raza.
The LDS Church supported the a non-discrimination bill in the 2015 Utah Legislature. The bill, which became law, protects people against discrimination in matters of housing and employment, but offered religious liberty exemptions.
The existing law also applies only to misdemeanor crimes, and also lacks classifications of those to be protected.
Prosecutors have called the current law and have complained it is too non-specific to be useful.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, Utah is one of 15 states with hate crime laws that lack protections for sexual orientation and identity.
