Gay-Straight Alliances in Utah

Check out this cool story about the rise of gay-straight alliances in Utah high schools:

[A]t three local high schools this fall, dozens of gay students and their supporters finally convened the first gay-straight alliances in the history of this conservative, largely Mormon city. It was a turning point for St. George and the state, where administrators, teachers and even the Legislature have tried for years to block support groups for gay youths, calling them everything from inappropriate to immoral.

The new alliances in St. George were part of a sharp rise last fall in the number of clubs statewide, reflecting new activism by gay and lesbian students, an organizing drive by a gay rights group and the intervention of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has threatened to sue districts that put up arbitrary hurdles. Last January, only nine high schools in Utah had active gay-straight alliances; by last month, the number had reached 32.