The Salt Lake Tribune on
Wednesday named the three couples who challenged Utah's ban on gay
marriage and won their Utahns of the Year.
“These six people put their names to
the lawsuit challenging Amendment 3,” the paper
wrote. “They stood up, stood together and helped history
along.”
“Because of these Utah plaintiffs –
who bravely made public their most private lives – the state took
an unlikely position among the vanguard in the biggest civil-rights
movement of the day. Forever, their names will be associated with a
tidal wave of change that swept the country.”
“For that, Derek Kitchen and Moudi
Sbeity, Karen Archer and Kate Call, Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge
are The Salt Lake Tribune Utahns of the Year.”
Roughly a year ago, scores of gay
couples tied the knot on a Friday after a federal judge struck down
Utah's ban as invalid. More than 900 couples exchanged vows before
the U.S. Supreme Court intervened, putting the ruling on hold as the
state pursued an appeal.
Officials argued that the ban fostered
“responsible procreation” and claimed “sovereign” right to
define marriage in Utah. But the arguments failed to sway a 3-judge
panel of an appeals court.
On October 6, the Supreme Court denied
the state's request for review, allowing the appeals court's ruling
declaring the ban unconstitutional to stand.
Opposition to marriage equality in Utah
remains higher than the national average. A poll conducted in
August found 61 percent of respondents opposed, though a majority
(51%) of respondents under 24 said that they support such unions.