Republican Rep. LaVar Christensen's HB148, “Parent and Child Amendments,” was intended to prevent same-sex couples from making or enforcing any co-parenting agreements. That alone would be bad enough, but this bill strips away the possibility of parental rights from anyone other than the biological or adoptive parent of a child. This affects loving step-parents, grandparents and anyone else who may be raising a child who is not their own.

The courts would be unable to give these people custody of a child over the objections of a drug-addicted or abusive biological parent, even if that were clearly in the child's best interest. It will not matter if the child calls them “mommy” or “daddy.” It will not matter how long they have lived together, and it will not matter how strong their bond is. All that will matter is that there is no biological connection.

Good, loving families will be ripped apart by this law, just because they do not fit the “natural family” mold, and children will suffer the most.

Please urge the governor to veto this bill, before Utah joins Kanab in endorsing "natural families" at the expense of everyone else.

Tom Moyer

Salt Lake City