SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A proposal that would allow financially dependent same-sex couples to sue in the event of a wrongful death has won support from a legislative committee.

The only openly gay member of the Senate, Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, is sponsoring a bill that would allow people in financially dependent relationships – whether related or not – to appeal to a judge for compensation if one person dies and it’s someone else’s fault.

Currently, only the victim’s spouse, parents or children can sue.

Several family values groups are decrying the measure as an effort to legalize same-sex marriage, which is banned in the state constitution.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Eagle Forum, said if the Legislature ends up approving McCoy’s bill, courts could decide that Utah has effectively extended the rights of marriage to same-sex couples and overrule the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

“Recently in California the Supreme Court overturned a law that the people had voted for,” she said. “One of the reasons (why) is the legislature had passed so many laws giving same sex relationships the same benefits of marriage. ... This is just the same thing that is happening here.”

The legislation approved by the committee Nov. 19 is part of a package of bills advocating more rights for gays. But McCoy says his bill would also apply to people in other relationships, such as a grandmother who is financially dependent on her granddaughter, and so has nothing to do with same-sex marriage.

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, agreed.

“I can look at my constituents who are not in favor of same-sex marriage (and tell them) that this does nothing to undermine traditional marriage,” he said.

Gay rights groups hailed the Republican-controlled committee’s approval as a victory for compassion.

“I’m very happy,” said Will Carlson, public policy director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. “This is about common ground. This isn’t about marriage. This is about taking care of people. ... There’s been a lot of talk about Utah being a ‘hate state.’ I think this shows while Utah has a clear position on marriage, (Utahns) want to take care of each other.”

Under McCoy’s bill, qualifying as someone who can file a wrongful death lawsuit would require the person to be designated as the sole wrongful death heir in the decedent’s will.

After that, to qualify the person would have to prove that they had been living together, had been designated as the beneficiary of retirement benefits, a health insurance policy or will and that both people shared assets and liabilities.

If financial damages were to be awarded as the result of a wrongful death lawsuit, McCoy’s bill calls for the minor children of the deceased one to be paid first.

That means if a jury awards $100,000 to the children and $50,000 to the designated beneficiary but the person paying the bills only has $100,000, the children would get all of the money.

Still, some lawmakers said they were concerned that children might be shortchanged.

“The piece of the pie is going to be less because of this individual,” said Rep. Jim Bird, R-West Jordan.

In what will likely be a preview of the debate that will happen when the bill is taken up again in January, others said they didn’t understand why the law should be changed from the way it was set up in the 1950s because it bestowed benefits to traditional families and encouraged marriage.

“I’m not sure I want to change that,” said Rep. Curt Webb, R-Logan.

McCoy said the law left people out then just as it does today.

“We can either leave things the way they were in the ’50s or we can (recognize) the fact that today there are many different types of household settings that are as equally impacted by the unexpected death of a loved one at the negligence of another,” he said.