Mormon church backs anti-discrimination proposals

SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment.

The Utah-based church’s support ahead of Tuesday night’s vote came despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, reflected in the high-profile role it played last year in California’s Proposition 8 ballot measure that barred such unions.

“The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage,” Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said.

Passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the two new ordinances, it is illegal to fire someone from their job or evict someone from their residence because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender.

Utah lawmakers tend to quickly fall in line when the influential church makes a rare foray into legislative politics. So Tuesday’s action could have broad effects in this highly conservative state where more than 80 percent of lawmakers and the governor are church members.

“What happened here tonight I do believe is a historic event,” said Brandie Balken, director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. “I think it establishes that we can stand together on common ground that we don’t have to agree on everything, but there are lot of things that we can work on and be allies.”

But the church has pointed out an inherent dispute it has with gay relationships. Mormonism considers traditional marriages central to God’s plan. Gays are welcome in church, but must remain celibate to retain church callings and full membership.

Its strong support for Proposition 8 in California last year drew a sharp reaction from gay rights supporters nationwide, with many protesting outside temples that singled out Mormons as the key culprits in restricting the rights of gay couples.

Since then, however, Utah’s gay community has sought to engage church leaders in quiet conversations to help foster better understanding, said Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center.

“I thought this conversation would never come to be while I was here in Salt Lake City,” said Larabee, adding that the discussions have “shifted her perspective of what’s possible” and could foreshadow a different relationship between the two sides.

But addressing the council on Tuesday, Otterson said the endorsement is not a shift in the church’s position on gay rights and stressed it “remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman.”

Church support for the ordinances is due in part to the way the legislation was drafted to protect those rights. Exceptions in the legislation allow churches to maintain, without penalty, religious principles and religion-based codes of conduct or rules.

“In drafting these ordinances, the city has granted commonsense rights that should be available to everyone, while safeguarding the crucial rights of religious organizations,” Otterson said Tuesday.

Previous Utah legislation that sought statewide protections for the gay community did not contain those exceptions.

And although this was the church’s first public endorsement of specific legislation, it is not the first time the church has voiced support for some gay rights.

In August 2008 the church issued a statement saying it supports gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, employment, housing or probate as long as they “do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.”

Last year, church leaders were silent on a package of gay rights bills known as the Common Ground Initiative, dooming them from the start, despite the bill having the support of the most popular governor in state history, Jon Huntsman. Huntsman resigned this summer to become U.S. ambassador to China.

His successor, Gov. Gary Herbert, has repeatedly said it shouldn’t be illegal to discriminate against someone for being gay.

Updated 1:23 p.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — With a historic endorsement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Salt Lake City Council has unanimously passed a pair of ordinances making it illegal to discriminate against gays in housing and employment.

Tuesday’s action was the first time the Utah-based church — which has been steadfast in its opposition to gay marriage — has publicly supported gay-rights legislation.

“The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage,” said Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for church.

The vote makes Salt Lake City the first Utah community to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The measures make it illegal to fire or evict someone because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender.

“What happened here tonight I do believe is a historic event,” said Brandie Balken, director of Equality Utah, which works on gay-rights legislation.

But Otterson said the endorsement was not a shift in the church’s position on gay rights, and he stressed it “remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman.”

Though this was the church’s first public endorement of legislation, in August 2008 the church issued a statement saying it supports gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, housing or probate as long as they “do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.”

The church has been consistent in its position and has actively worked against marriage equality legislation since the 1990s.

Last year, the church came under fire for its high-profile role in the effort to pass Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that banned gay marriage.

Since the November 2008 vote, the church has been widely criticized and its temples and meeting houses have been targeted with protests and vandalism.

Church support for the ordinances is due in part to the way they are drafted to carve out exceptions that protect the religious freedoms of all churches, according to Under the exceptions, for example, a church owned school that sets rules based on its religious principles would not be forced to change them if the ordinance becomes law.

Previous Utah legislation that sought statewide protections for the gay community did not contain those exceptions.

The church’s support for an anti-discrimination ordinance may also have broad reaching effects in this highly conservative state where more than 80 percent of state lawmakers and the governor are church members.

The church rarely involves itself with political issues, but when it do does, lawmakers in both parties here tend to quickly fall in line with its position.

The church’s silence on a package of gay rights bills known as the Common Ground Initiative doomed them this past legislative session, despite the bill having the support of the most popular governor in state history, Jon Huntsman. Huntsman resigned this summer to become U.S. ambassador to China.

His successor, Gov. Gary Herbert, has repeatedly said it shouldn’t be illegal to discriminate against someone for being gay.

Updated 10:37 p.m.

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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mormon church supports a proposed pair of Salt Lake City ordinances that would make it illegal to discriminate against gays in housing and employment matters, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, endorsed the proposals during a City Council meeting.

"The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," Otterson said.

If the ordinances are approved, the city would be the first in Utah to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The proposals make it illegal to fire or evict someone for being lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender.

The endorsement is not a shift in the church's position on gay rights and reinforces past statements on the issue, Otterson said.

In August 2008, the church issued a statement saying it supports gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, housing or probate as long as they "do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches."

But Otterson said Tuesday the church "remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman."

The church said its support for the ordinances is due in part to the way they are drafted to carve out exceptions that protect the religious freedoms of all churches.

Previous Utah legislation that sought protections for the gay community did not contain those exceptions.

The church has come under fire for its support of Proposition 8, a ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California in 2008.