Utah Lawmakers Pass LDS Church Backed Bill on Same-Sex Marriages

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah's Republican-controlled Legislature has passed a bill that allows county clerks to refuse to marry same-sex couples for religious reasons.

But the bill requires a county clerk's office to designate someone who will marry gay couples if the clerk opts out. Utah's House voted 66-9 Wednesday night to approve the proposal. It's unclear if Republican Gov. Gary Herbert will sign it. Same-sex marriage was effectively legalized in Utah last year after the U.S. Supreme Court declined

to hear a challenge to the state's gay marriage ban. LGBT advocates say they're neutral on the proposal. The Utah-based Mormon church has come out in support of the measure. The faith also supporting a landmark anti-discrimination bill that passed earlier Wednesday and protects gay and transgender people while preserving religious rights.