Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A watered down version of a bill that might have banned gay-straight alliance clubs at Utah high schools was endorsed by a House committee late today.
House Bill 3-93 no longer appears to threaten the existence of the clubs.
Language in the bill that would have prohibited "self-labeling in terms of sexual orientation," has been dropped.
Bill sponsor Representative Aaron Tilton says that removes any barrier to forming Gay Straight Alliances.
Instead the Springville Republican's proposal would only require parental consent for all school clubs and require their annual approval by school administrators.
But some still fear gay clubs could be quashed or at least forced to change their names, because they reference sexual identity.
The bill will now get a debate by the full House.
A more restrictive Senate bill on the issue, which had lagged after it's sponsor became ill, will be revived on Capitol Hill next week.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
