Utah Governor’s gay-rights stance honored

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will be honored by Utah’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community at this weekend’s pride festival.

The Utah Pride Center and other LGBT organizations have picked Huntsman for the Pete Suazo Political Action Award.

Huntsman is the first Utah governor to openly support civil unions for same-sex couples. Earlier this year, he also endorsed the Common Ground Initiative, a campaign for basic legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns that fizzled in the Legislature.

The award is named for the late state Sen. Pete Suazo, who worked for years to pass hate-crimes legislation in Utah.

See Governor’s gay-rights stance honored

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