Tag Archives: Gary Herbert

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Utah’s governor declared a new state of emergency late Sunday after the state’s most devastating week of the pandemic, as COVID-19 infections skyrocketed and deaths hit new highs. His big concern is the surge in hospitalizations that may soon overwhelm doctors and nurses. Gov. Gary Herbert issued a series of new restrictions, including a statewide …

Ben Winslow reports for Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: It was meant as a fun, Utah-themed way to raise awareness of HIV. Utah’s Department of Health planned to distribute 100,000 condoms turning some popular state slogans and landmarks into double-entendres. But it apparently did not amuse Governor Gary Herbert, who put a stop to the campaign just hours after it …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has issued a directive calling on a state agency to craft rules governing conversion therapy. In response to a question by FOX 13 on the status of legislation at his monthly news conference, the governor confirmed his directive. In a letter to Department of Commerce Director Francine …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: After years and years of trying and failing, Utah finally has a working hate crimes law. In a public ceremony at the Utah State Capitol on Tuesday, Governor Gary Herbert signed Senate Bill 103 into law. “I think with the passage of Senate Bill 103, we are sending a message that …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: A group of young LGBTQ rights activists staged a sit-in outside Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s office over a gutted bill that banned conversion therapy. The changes were so dramatic that HB399’s sponsor, Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, said he could no longer support his own legislation. On Wednesday, he told FOX 13 he …

The Deseret News reports: Gov. Gary Herbert slammed Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, as a “Mormon bigot” Wednesday after Bannon accused Mitt Romney of hiding behind his LDS faith to avoid serving in Vietnam. The governor called it “a low blow because of politics” that was disappointing. “This smacks of good old-fashioned Mormon bigotry. I think …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Utah lawmakers have passed a bill repealing a controversial law forbidding discussion in classrooms of anything that could be construed as “promotion” of homosexuality. Senate Bill 196’s passage might also get the state out of a lawsuit filed by three students and a pair of gay rights groups. The bill, sponsored …

Shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized in Utah in 2013, Gov. Gary Herbert ordered state agencies to deny benefits to LGBT couples. Herbert was sued and lost. Therefore today he grudgingly said that the judge should “follow the law” when it comes the lesbian couple ordered yesterday to surrender their baby to heterosexual parents. Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake …

As you can see in the tweet above, there were two pieces of good news out of Utah last night as the “license to discriminate” bill is dead for this legislative session. The clip below was posted to Gov. Herbert’s official YouTube channel.

Utah’s governor and attorney general today threw up their hands and said, “Sorry about all that hate. Besties forever?” Via the Salt Lake Tribune: Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said marriage licenses would be immediately issued to same-sex couples. “Not to issue one would be a violation of the 10th Circuit’s mandate and a violation of these couples’ …

Via Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed: Utah will not need to recognize same-sex couples’ marriages beginning on Monday, following an unsigned order from Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. More than 1,000 same-sex couples married in Utah before the Supreme Court issued a stay in January halting same-sex couples from marrying under a trial court order striking down the state’s ban on …

Via the Salt Lake Tribune: Utah intends to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that requires the state to recognize the same-sex marriages performed during the brief time it was legal in late December and early January. Gov. Gary Herbert and Attorney General Sean Reyes filed a notice of appeal Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The case would go to the …

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert took a swipe at fellow GOP Gov. Tom Corbett today for not appealing the legalization of same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania. Herbert made the comments Thursday during his monthly televised news conference on KUED. The Republican governor said he’s dismayed by the suggestion that Utah should drop its defense of the 2004 voter-approved ban because public opinion …

Attorney General Eric Holder essentially just told Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to suck it. The Obama administration on Friday said that it would recognize as lawful the marriages of 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah, even though the state government is refusing to do so. Wading into the fast-moving legal battle over same-sex marriage rights in one of America’s most socially …

Governor Gary Herbert’s office has sent a letter to all state agencies. An excerpt: Based on counsel from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the Supreme Court decision, state recognition of same-sex marital status is ON HOLD until further notice. Please understand this position is not intended to comment on the legal status of those same-sex marriages – that is for …

“The Supreme Court made the correct decision to stay Judge Shelby’s ruling in the Amendment 3 case. Clearly, the stay should have been granted with the original District Court decision in order to have avoided the uncertainty created by this unprecedented change. As I have said all along, all Utahns deserve to have this issue resolved through a fair and …

On Friday, the good guys filed a SCOTUS brief opposing Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s demand for a stay on gay marriages while the Tenth Circuit Court considers their appeal. Today the state fired back with a reply brief. As you’ll recall, the plaintiffs’ brief denounced the state’s citation of the Regnerus study and noted that Regnerus was denounced by the …

“It turns out, Utah screwed it up.” Great recap.