In my most recent post, I suggested that instead of protests a strategic campaign which is positioned to appeal logically to the minds and hearts of members of the Mormon church, especially those conflicted by the LDS presence in the California Prop 8 campaign, would be more productive. And, Equality Utah has proposed a brilliant response. In a widely covered press conference, the organization outlined its forthcoming legislative agenda when the session begins in January, asking the church leaders to honor their word on not objecting to various rights as they pertain to same-sex couples. Most specifically, Equality Utah noted these five issues:

Hospitalization & Medical Care

Most gay people with insurance cannot insure their family. This bill will mandate that insurance plans, which extend benefits to an employee’s spouse, also cover an employee’s partner. When insurance plans cover families, they should cover every family member.

Fair Housing & Employment

Currently, it is legal to fire a person from her job or evict a person from his home just for being gay or transgender. The Fair Housing and Workplace bill will expand on HB 89, introduced by Representative Christine Johnson in the 2008 session. It will add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of characteristics employers and landlords may not consider when making employment or housing decisions.

Probate Rights – Wrongful Death Amendments

The death of a loved one is painful. When someone dies, we can protect the family’s financial security by removing barriers to inheritance and insurance. As part of this effort, we will continue to support Senator Scott McCoy’s Wrongful Death Amendments legislation.

Domestic Partner Rights & Responsibilities Act

The term “marriage” has proven to stir up many conflicts. Aside from marriage, we can do much more to help committed couples care for each other. This bill creates a statewide domestic partner registry as exists in California and attaches rights of inheritance, insurance and fair housing.

Repeal of Part 2 of Utah’s Amendment 3

A registry that covers inheritance, housing, and insurance is not the legal equivalent of marriage. Yet the second part of Amendment 3 has been misinterpreted to avoid any recognition of gay couples. Laws that deny basic protections under the law should be repealed. This bill will repeal the portion of Amendment 3 which states “no other domestic union; however, denominated, may be recognized as marriage or be given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.”

These are modest, reasonable yet politically momentous proposals, especially for the state. From the perspective of the church and Mormons and non-Mormons alike in Utah, the agenda stacks up as a win-win proposal. Indeed, Utah, for once, could set the stage for marking the boundaries of a civil unions bill, one that ultimately could make its way into the federal environment, especially in the new Obama Administration. And, it would indicate to all of us — as a broad demonstration of credibility and affirmation — that Mormon leaders are men of honor who keep their word and look out for the welfare of all of Utah’s citizens and residents. Indeed, in a changing national political climate, the Mormon leadership has been forced out into the open, painfully and awkwardly, and completely of its own choice. Hoping to step out of the margins into a broadly accepted environment of political and ecclesiastical legitimacy, the LDS leaders may now find themselves seeking to preserve their Mormon Belt in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and a few other pockets in the U.S. West.

This is a first-class political strategic move on the behalf of Equality Utah.