Utah’s LGBTQ Laws Rated in Human Rights Campaign’s Annual State Equality Index
A record number of pro-LGBTQ bills were introduced last year -- and 2019 prospects are encouraging
News comes as U.S. House poised to consider Equality Act to end patchwork of non-discrimination protections across the states
WASHINGTON -- Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation and the Equality Federation Institute released their 5th annual State Equality Index (SEI), a comprehensive report detailing statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ people and their families, and assessing how well states are protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. Utah falls into the category, “Building Equality.” Because there are currently no comprehensive civil rights protections for LGBTQ people at the federal level, the rights of millions of LGBTQ people and their families depend on which state they live in. In 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who they are. For this reason, the incoming pro-equality majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has made the Equality Act -- a bill to establish comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ people -- a top priority.
As civil rights organizations work toward passage of these critical federal protections, accelerating progress at the state level is critical. This year, the number of states that obtained the SEI’s highest rating, “Working Toward Innovative Equality,” increased from 13 to 17. These states currently have robust LGBTQ non-discrimination laws covering employment, housing and public accommodations, as well as protections in the areas of credit and insurance.
This SEI report comes as more than 46 state legislatures have opened their sessions -- and with New York kicking off the year on a tremendous note by passing both the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and legislation protecting LGBTQ youth in the state from the dangerous and debunked practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” The Virginia State Senate has also passed legislation that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. And governors in Kansas, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin signed executive orders protecting LGBTQ state employees.
The U.S. House is soon poised to begin considering the Equality Act, a historic bill that would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs and jury service. More than 130 major employers, with operations in all 50 states, have joined HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act, urging Congress to pass these crucial protections.
“The work of the HRC Foundation and programs like the State Equality Index, along with HRC's efforts day in and day out to advance protections for LGBTQ people at the state and federal level are vital to the struggle for LGBTQ civil rights,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.”HRC and our partners on the ground defeated dozens of anti-LGBTQ bills last year, and worked to pass crucial pro-equality measures that ensure LGBTQ Americans are protected wherever they live. Already, we see the promise of even more protections passing in 2019 -- with action taken in New York, Virginia, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.”
Griffin continued, “However, LGBTQ people still face the sobering reality that their rights are determined by which side of a state or city line they call home. As this year’s State Equality Index makes clear, the time has come for us to do away with this patchwork of state laws and to protect all LGBTQ people by passing the federal Equality Act.”
Said Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of Equality Federation Institute: “The strength of the state-based LGBTQ movement is critical to elevate our representation, visibility and equality across the country. As we look to the next legislative session, the State Equality Index should serve as a recognition of how far we have come and how much we have yet to achieve.”
Advancing LGBTQ nondiscriminaton protections at the state and federal level is supported by a wide swath of Americans. In fact, a recent PRRI survey found that 71 percent of Americans support LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws like the Equality Act. An estimated 12 million LGBTQ Americans, their friends and families remain at risk of discrimination if they live in one of the 30 states without adequate protections. Utah is one of those 30 states in the country that lack explicit state-level protections for all LGBTQ people. A map of this patchwork of laws can be found here.
The SEI’s assessment of statewide LGBTQ-related legislation and policies in the areas of parenting laws and policies, religious refusal and relationship recognition laws, non-discrimination laws and policies, hate crime and criminal justice laws, youth-related laws and policies and health and safety laws and policies has placed each state in one of four distinct categories:
This year’s SEI also details the onslaught of more than 100 anti-LGBTQ laws introduced across 29 states during the 2018 state legislative season, including proposals to grant sweeping licenses to discriminate, undercut marriage equality and target the transgender community -- including transgender children. HRC worked on the ground with local advocates and allies to defeat all but two of these bills.
The report also points to encouraging progress for LGBTQ youth, as well as transgender and gender non-conforming people seeking to update their identity documents. Last legislative session, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 1319 into law, protecting transgender individuals across the state from discrimination in employment, housing and public spaces. Additionally, a record five states -- Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington -- passed new protections against the practice of so-called “conversion therapy,” bringing the total number of states with such laws or regulations to 15, plus the District of Columbia. New York, which has had regulatory restrictions against the practice since 2016, kicked off its 2019 legislative session by enacting a law solidifying and expanding these protections.
HRC’s full State Equality Index report, including detailed scorecards for every state; a comprehensive review of 2018 state legislation; and a preview of the 2019 state legislative session is available online at www.hrc.org/sei.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
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Just today, senators and congressmen on the conference committee met to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis at the border. In order to come to a deal, Congress needs to hear from their constituents who, like the vast majority of Americans, support securing the border.
As the fight for border security continues, conservatives should be encouraged to stay the course, and continue to fight.Conservatives should not give in for a weak deal from liberal Democrats. As Sentinels, we need to put pressure on members of Congress who haven’t been voting with their constituents in mind.
If you haven’t used social media to amplify your voice yet, you can use some of our tweets below, or send one of your own.
DON’T FORGET: Use “@” to tag members of Congress in your tweet to make sure they see it!
When contacting your members of Congress, remember to underscore the four conservative priorities for securing our nation’s southern border once and for all:
✔ Secure the border and fully fund the border wall
✔ Increase funding for ICE, CBP, prosecutors, and immigration judges
✔ Close loopholes in immigration law, end catch-and-release, and put a stop to sanctuary cities
✔ Implement common-sense reforms like ending chain migration and visa lottery
On behalf of everyone at Heritage Action, thank you for fighting to secure our border! Let’s get this done.
Janae Stracke
Grassroots Director
Heritage Action
Attached is the PDF file for the USDA NASS Utah Agricultural Prices Press Release.
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Prices Received – Mountain Region States and United States: November 2018 with Comparisons State November 2017 October 2018 November 2018 Barley, All (dollars per bushel) (dollars per bushel) (dollars per bushel) Colorado ............................. 4.69 (D) 4.65 Montana .............................. 4.27 4.17 4.94 Wyoming ............................ (D) (S) (D) United States ....................... 4.60 4.27 4.78 Corn Colorado ............................. 3.24 3.67 3.65 United States ....................... 3.15 3.41 3.41 Wheat, All Arizona ............................... (D) (D) (D) Colorado ............................. 3.18 4.54 4.51 Montana .............................. 5.42 5.30 5.18 United States ....................... 4.72 5.22 5.23 Cotton, Upland (dollars per pound) (dollars per pound) (dollars per pound) Arizona ............................... (D) (D) (D) United States ....................... 0.673 0.723 0.730 Hay, Alfalfa (dollars per ton) (dollars per ton) (dollars per ton) Arizona ............................... 170.00 190.00 190.00 Colorado ............................. 170.00 215.00 225.00 Montana .............................. 145.00 140.00 145.00 New Mexico ....................... 180.00 230.00 250.00 Utah .................................... 135.00 175.00 175.00 Wyoming ............................ 140.00 170.00 175.00 United States ....................... 150.00 178.00 175.00 Hay, Other Arizona ............................... 180.00 200.00 200.00 Colorado ............................. 180.00 215.00 225.00 Montana .............................. 140.00 125.00 130.00 New Mexico ....................... 160.00 160.00 160.00 Utah .................................... 120.00 135.00 135.00 Wyoming ............................ 130.00 140.00 145.00 United States ....................... 118.00 132.00 137.00 Milk, All (dollars per hundredweight) (dollars per hundredweight) (dollars per hundredweight) Arizona ............................... 16.70 16.80 16.40 Colorado ............................. 18.50 18.20 17.60 New Mexico ....................... 17.10 15.80 15.30 Utah .................................... 18.40 17.50 16.80 United States ....................... 18.20 17.40 17.00 (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (S) Insufficient number of reports to establish an estimate.
UNITED STATES
November Prices Received Index Up 3.5 Percent
The November Prices Received Index (Agricultural Production), at 88.1, increased 3.5 percent from October 2018. At 84.1, the Crop Production Index increased 5.0 percent. The Livestock Production Index, at 92.1, increased 0.9 percent. Producers received higher prices for lettuce, market eggs, cattle, and broilers but lower prices for soybeans, milk, hogs, and lemons. Compared with a year earlier, the Prices Received Index is down 3.6 percent. The Crop Production Index increased 2.7 percent and the Livestock Production Index decreased 9.5 percent. In addition to prices, the indexes are influenced by the volume change of commodities producers market. Increased monthly movement of milk, corn, cattle, and cotton offset the decreased marketing of soybeans, grapes, lettuce, and wheat. The Food Commodities Index, at 93.8, increased 5.6 percent from the previous month but decreased 6.9 percent from November 2017.
November Prices Paid Index Down 0.4 Percent
The November Prices Paid Index for Commodities and Services, Interest, Taxes, and Farm Wage Rates (PPITW), at 109.0, is down 0.4 percent from October 2018 but up 1.8 percent from November 2017. Lower prices in November for feeder cattle, LP gas, herbicides, and complete feeds more than offset higher prices for feeder pigs, tractors, nitrogen, and supplements.
For a full copy of the Agricultural Prices report please visit www.nass.usda.gov. For state specific questions please contact:
Arizona – Dave DeWalt 1-800-645-7286 Colorado – William R. Meyer 1-800-392-3202 Montana – Eric Sommer 1-800-835-2612 New Mexico – Longino Bustillos 1-800-530-8810 Utah – John Hilton 1-800-747-8522 Wyoming – Rhonda Brandt 1-800-892-1660
