Steve Urquhart is a lawyer in Salt Lake City, Utah and a board member for Equality Utah. He served in the Utah Legislature from 2001 to 2016, representing the St. George area.

Urquhart understands that he was not the most likely leader to sponsor landmark LGBTQ-related legislation – but in the early 2010s, he paused and gave the issue of LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination in Utah deep consideration. He ultimately became a supporter and lead sponsor of a bill to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. In 2015, when Utah became the first Republican-controlled state legislature in the nation to pass LGBTQ protections, he knew he and his colleagues were making a difference for the people of Utah. “It’s the proudest moment in my 16 years as a legislator,” he wrote in an op-ed for The Salt Lake Tribune. 

Now, Urquhart knows that Americans nationwide also need to be protected from anti-LGBTQ discrimination. “I urge members of Congress, including Sen. Romney and Sen. Lee here in Utah, to look no further than our home state for proof that nondiscrimination protections make our communities safer and stronger. I hope that my experience can inspire other elected officials to act. This fight has been the journey of a lifetime. Now, there’s one last step to grant LGBTQ Utahns the full dignity and respect they deserve: full and clear protections at the federal level. It’s time for Congress to finish the job.”