Tag Archives: Utah

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A bill that would effectively decriminalize polygamy and dispel fears of prosecution for plural marriage among consenting adults sailed through the Utah Senate on Tuesday. Sen. Deidre Henderson’s bill would reclassify bigamy as an infraction, codifying the practice of the Utah attorney general’s office not to prosecute otherwise law-abiding polygamists. An infraction, like a traffic …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump continued his verbal barrage on Sen. Mitt Romney on Monday, telling Utah’s governor, “You keep him.” Trump, who’s repeatedly criticized his fellow Republican since Romney voted last week to convict the president for abuse of power at his Senate impeachment trial, still had the Utah senator on his mind when Gov. Gary Herbert tried …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A rural Utah lawmaker is asking his colleagues to send a message of support to President Donald Trump by voting to censure Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, on Thursday announced that he had filed a resolution to censure Romney, saying the senator’s judgment was questionable even if his motives were pure. “We’re …

From the editorial board of the Salt Lake Tribune: He could have voted with the rest of the Republican members of the Senate of the United States to acquit the president of the United States on both of the articles of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. He could have rationalized it — to himself, to his party, to …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: A rule banning conversion therapy on LGBTQ children has gone into effect, making Utah the 19th state to ban the practice. Governor Gary Herbert’s office confirmed to FOX 13 that the administrative rule went into effect on Tuesday night. The governor’s office declined to comment any further on it. Last year, …

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 …

The Washington Post reports: A former investment manager alleges in a whistleblower complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has amassed about $100 billion in accounts intended for charitable purposes, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Washington Post. The confidential document, received by the IRS on Nov. 21, …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and LGBTQ advocates have coalesced around a proposed ban on “conversion therapy” for minors. Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday evening announced that groups involved in the emotional debate have finally agreed on language that would prohibit the discredited practice. The proposed professional licensing rule for therapists and …

Fox News reports: Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announced Thursday morning that he is running for his old job once again. Huntsman left the governorship in the middle of his second term in 2009 to serve as ambassador to China in the Obama administration. He recently finished a two-year stint as ambassador to Russia under President Trump, which ended when …

A groundbreaking move for a major newspaper: The Salt Lake Tribune is now a nonprofit, an unprecedented transformation for a legacy U.S. daily that is intended to bolster its financial prospects during a troubling time for journalism nationwide. The IRS approved the shift in a letter dated Oct. 29, deeming The Tribune a 501(c)(3) public charity. That means supporters can …

The Associated Press reports: A proposed conversion therapy ban in Utah is in danger of being derailed after The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints came out in opposition, just months after it said it wouldn’t stand in the way of a similar measure under consideration. The church said in a statement that the regulatory rule prohibiting Utah …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman is returning home to Utah where he is reportedly mulling another run for governor. Huntsman sent President Donald Trump a resignation letter Tuesday morning and is planning to move back to the Beehive State in October. “American citizenship is a privilege and I believe the most basic responsibility in …

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 …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: Two students have been indefinitely suspended from the Kearns High football team for a social media post showing a Pride flag being burned and threatening LGBTQ people. A player posted a video on Snapchat last week where someone lights an LGBTQ Pride flag on fire and laughs. Someone in the video is heard saying …

Newsweek reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considers same-sex marriage to be a “serious transgression” — and, until this spring, treated Mormons involved in these unions as apostates, subject to church disciplinary hearings that could result in their excommunication. So a commencement ceremony on Friday at Brigham Young University, the flagship academic institution of the Mormon Church, …

The New York Times reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a remarkable reversal to its policies on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on Thursday. The decision rolls back a 2015 policy that barred children living with same-sex couples from important religious practices like baby-naming ceremonies and baptisms. That policy also declared that church members in …

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 …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: The Florida man who was caught on video asking a Utah man if he is gay and then punching him failed to show up for a court date on Friday, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Carlo Alazo, 22, faces three misdemeanors — one count of threatening to use a weapon in a …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: After years of stalling in the Utah Legislature, a bill to strengthen the state’s hate crimes law has now cleared both chambers by commanding margins. Before passing the bill, the House adopted an amendment that added “political expression” to the list of categories that would be protected by the updated hate crimes statue. Rep. Karianne …

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 …