Mormon church backs LGBT rights — with one condition - Posted 10:08 am, January 27, 2015, by CNN Wire from Fox31 in Denver. Filed in: National/World News Topics: LGBT, Mormon Church. I am posting no opinion on this article, right or wrong. I am simply forwarding an article found and saved to my personal files for a future reference if needed.
SALT LAKE CITY — In at least one big and bruising culture-war battle, the Mormon church wants to call a partial truce.
Convening a rare press conference on Tuesday at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Mormon leaders pledged to support anti-discrimination laws for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, as long the laws also protect the rights of religious groups.
In exchange, the Mormon church wants gay rights advocates — and the government — to back off.
“When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,” said Elder Dallin Oaks, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles.
“Such tactics are every bit as wrong as denying access to employment, housing or public services because of race or gender.”
The Mormon church is one of several religious groups to complain about religious freedom coming under “attack” in recent years. The Catholic church and Southern Baptists, among other evangelicals, have sounded the alarm as well.
Oaks cited several examples on Tuesday, including:
The mayor of Houston subpoenaing sermon notes last year from pastors who opposed an equal rights ordination. The subpoena was later dropped. Public pressure on a Mormon gymnast to step down as an Olympic liaison in 2011 because he had supported California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in 2008. In 2014, Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was forced to resign because he had donated money to support the passage of Prop 8.
“It is one of today’s great ironies that some people who have fought so hard for LGBT rights now try to deny the rights of others to disagree with their public policy proposals,” said Oaks.
Tuesday’s offer doesn’t change church doctrine — including its opposition to gay marriage, Mormon leaders said.
“But we are suggesting a new way forward in which those with different views on these complex issues can together seek solutions that will be fair to everyone,” said Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, one of the church’s top tiers of leadership.
Officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church, like other religious groups, has tried to strike a delicate balance on gay rights.
Mormons have fought the legalization of same-sex marriage, for example, while trying to avoid the “anti-gay” label sometimes affixed to conservative faiths. Many church members were particularly stung by the fierce backlash to Prop 8. The Mormon-backed referendum was later struck down in court.
Nearly two-thirds of Mormons say homosexuality should be discouraged by society, according to a 2012 survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The church’s official position is that same-sex attraction is not a sin, but acting on it is.
At the same time, Mormon leaders have taken an increasingly civil tone towards gays and lesbians in recent years, and gay rights groups cheered the church for endorsing the Boy Scouts’ decision to allow gay scouts in 2013.
Notably, however, Mormon leaders said Tuesday that they would not — and could not — alter their opposition to gay marriage, calling such unions, “contrary to the laws of God.”
“This commandment and doctrine comes from sacred scripture and we are not at liberty to change it,” said Sister Neill Marriott, a leader in the church’s women’s organization.
“But, God is loving and merciful,” Marriott continued. Jesus ministered to marginalized outcasts, she said by way of example, while also obeying religious commandments.
“It’s for this reason that the church has publicly favored laws and ordinances that protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing and employment.”
In 2009, the Mormon church backed nondiscrimination regulations for gays and lesbians in Salt Lake City. On Tuesday, Mormon leaders said they are now willing to support similar measures elsewhere, including laws protecting LGBT persons from unfair bias in housing, unemployment and public transportation.
With nearly 6.5 million members in the United States, the Mormon church is one of the largest in this country to offer support of LGBT anti-discrimination laws, second only to the United Methodist Church. The country’s two largest Christian denominations, the Catholic church and Southern Baptist Convention, have opposed the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. None of those groups condone gay marriage.
In this country, less than a third of states have laws protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination, according to GLAD, the gay rights group. Even fewer state laws protect gender identity or expression.
It is unlikely that Mormons’ support of those measures could increase that number, except perhaps in church strongholds like Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. There are 16 Mormons in Congress, where LGBT civil rights legislation, including ENDA, has repeatedly failed.
Gay marriage, on the other hand, has proved far more successful, despite opposition from conservative groups, including the Mormon church. Thirty-five states now allow same-sex couples to wed. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether states have the constitutional right to ban same-sex marriage.
Perhaps with an eye on the high court, Mormon leaders said Tuesday the rights of gays and lesbians must not trump the religious freedom of faith communities.
“What kinds of religious rights are we talking about?” said Elder Jeffrey Holland, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles.
It begins with the rights of faith communities to preach their beliefs from the pulpit, teach them in church classrooms and freely select their own leaders and ministers, Holland said.
But religious freedom should also extend to Mormon physicians who refuse to perform abortions or artificial insemination for a lesbian couple, or a Catholic pharmacist who declines to carry the “morning after” pill, he added.
As Mormon leaders acknowledged Tuesday, such situations have perplexed politicians, appeared on court dockets across the country and set conservative and liberals at fierce odds.
“These are serious issues,” Holland said, “and they require serious minds engaged in thoughtful, courteous discourse.”
On another note but similar topic, this clip video might clarify the Mormon views.
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/27952665/mormon-leaders-gay-rights-religious-rights-must-be-joined
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Mormon church leaders are making a national appeal for a "balanced approach" in the clash between gay rights and religious freedom.
The church is promising to support some housing and job protections for gays and lesbians in exchange for legal protections for believers who object to the behavior of others.
It's not clear how much common ground the Mormons will find with this new campaign. The church insists it is making no changes in doctrine, and still believes it's against the law of God to have sex outside marriage between a man and a woman.
But church leaders who held a rare news conference Tuesday said "we must all learn to live with others who do not share the same beliefs or values."
The language of the new campaign mirrors a website the church launched in 2012 instructing Latter-day Saints to be more accepting and compassionate toward gays. The church made clear then and now that it still opposes gay marriage and insists on its right to apply its own rules within church-affiliated charities, schools, businesses and properties, even those that provide services to non-Mormons.
The church announced the campaign in a rare news conference including three elders from a high-level Mormon governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Church leaders condemned discrimination against gays in stark terms, speaking of centuries of "persecution and even violence against homosexuals."
"Ultimately, most of society recognized that such treatment was simply wrong, and that such basic human rights as securing a job or a place to live should not depend on a person's sexual orientation," said Neill Marriottt, a church lobbyist.
Mormon leaders still want to be able to hire and fire workers based not only on religious beliefs, but also on behavior standards known as honor codes. Gays and lesbians would have to agree to remain celibate or marry someone of the opposite sex. The church also wants legal protections for religious objectors who work in government and health care, such as a physician who refuses to perform artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.
Accommodations for religious objectors have factored into every state legislative debate over gay rights. But political pressure on rights groups to make concessions to religious conservatives is plummeting as support for same-sex marriage grows around the country.
Gay rights advocates say broad religious exemptions perpetuate discrimination. In some states, such as Arizona, business leaders now side with gay advocates, saying extensive religious exemptions hurt a state's image.
When the U.S. Supreme Court set a broad expansion of gay marriage in motion last year, religious conservatives said they would press states to allow some groups, companies and people to refuse some benefits or service for gay spouses. And gay rights groups seeking job and housing protections have faced an uphill battle in the more politically and religiously conservative states. Under these circumstances, advocates for broader religious exceptions believe they can win some concessions.
The Mormon church operates an extensive network of charities, schools and for-profit businesses around the country, with total operating budgets in the billions of dollars, but the new LDS approach is likely to be especially significant in the Mormon strongholds of Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, where the church and its members play a large civic role.
After coming under intense criticism for leading the fight for California's Proposition 8, church leaders have been trying to heal tensions by telling Latter-day Saints to be more loving and respectful toward gays and lesbians, while appealing to gay and lesbian Mormons to stay in the church.
"Accommodating the rights of all people - including their religious rights - requires wisdom and judgment, compassion and fairness," Holland said. "Politically, it certainly requires dedication to the highest level of statesmanship. Nothing is achieved if either side resorts to bullying, political point scoring or accusations of bigotry."
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
24. Mormons in the News protecting gay rights
Mormon leaders call for measures protecting gay rights - Posted: Jan 27, 2015 9:28 AM PST
Updated: Jan 27, 2015 2:31 PM PST I am posting no opinion on this article, right or wrong. I am simply forwarding an article found and saved to my personal files for a future reference if needed.
By BRADY McCOMBS and RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Mormon church announced a campaign Tuesday for new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination while somehow also protecting people who assert their religious beliefs.
"We must find ways to show respect for others whose beliefs, values and behaviors differ from ours while never being forced to deny or abandon our own beliefs, values and behaviors in the process," a church elder, Jeffrey R. Holland, said in announcing the church's position.
Mormon leaders did not explain just how it would draw lines between gay rights and religious freedoms, and it's unclear how much common ground the church will gain with this campaign. The church insists it is making no changes in doctrine, and still believes that sex is against the law of God unless it's within a marriage between a man and a woman.
But the new approach could profoundly change political calculations in the Mormon strongholds of Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, where the church and its members play a large civic role.
In Utah, where most state lawmakers are Mormon, the announcement was cheered after years of failed efforts to pass anti-discrimination measures.
"What the LDS church did today was historic," said Democratic state Sen. Jim Dabakis, who was raised Mormon and is openly gay. "This was a bold, strong, principled statement ... today we are seeing the fruits of civility and respect."
The gay-rights group Equality Utah also applauded, saying LGBT rights can co-exist with freedoms of religious individuals.
But national advocates on both sides were dismissive.
The Rev. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention called the Mormon leaders "well-intentioned, but naive" about animosity toward religious exemptions. And Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, called it "deeply flawed." The First Amendment's protection of religious freedom "does not give any of us the right to harm others, and that's what it sounds like the proposal from the Mormon church would do - it would allow a doctor to refuse to care for a lesbian because of his religious beliefs, for example," said James Esskes, who directs the LGBT project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The campaign is the latest example of a shift in tone on gay rights by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counts 15 million members worldwide. They have moved away from harsh rhetoric and are preaching compassion and acceptance of gays and lesbians now that gay marriage is legal in Washington D.C. and 36 states including Utah.
"Accommodating the rights of all people - including their religious rights - requires wisdom and judgment, compassion and fairness," said Holland, who appeared at a rare news conference with two other apostles from the church's governing Quorum of the Twelve.
"Politically, it certainly requires dedication to the highest level of statesmanship. Nothing is achieved if either side resorts to bullying, political point scoring or accusations of bigotry."
The Mormon church will back laws that protect "vital religious freedoms for individuals, families, churches and other faith groups while also protecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodation in hotels, restaurants and transportation," said Dallin H. Oaks, another apostle.
Mormon leaders still want to hire and fire workers based on their religious beliefs as well as behavior standards known as honor codes, which require gays and lesbians to remain celibate or marry someone of the opposite sex. The church also wants legal protections for religious objectors who work in government and health care, such as a physician who refuses to perform an abortion, or provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.
"It is one of today's great ironies that some people who have fought so hard for LGBT rights now try to deny the rights of others to disagree with their public policy proposals," Oaks said.
Accommodations for religious objectors have factored into every state legislative debate over gay rights. But rights advocates have gained leverage as support for same-sex marriage grows. In some states, such as Arizona, even business leaders are on their side, saying broad religious exemptions hurt a state's image.
But religious conservatives also mobilized after the U.S. Supreme Court set a broad expansion of gay marriage in motion last year, pressing states to allow some groups, companies and people to refuse some benefits or service for gay spouses. And gay rights groups seeking job and housing protections have faced an uphill battle in the more politically and religiously conservative states.
Much has changed since Mormons led a fight against same-sex unions in California.
Given the "current contentious atmosphere that exists among people of different views on these subjects," Oaks said, "we wish to promote a more Christian, a more civil and considerate tone."
Associated Press write Michelle L. Price contributed to this story in Salt Lake City.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a news conference at the Conference Center, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Salt Lake City. (Source: AP/Rick Bowmer)
This material was copied and pasted to my personal files for my personal information for future reference. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated: Jan 27, 2015 2:31 PM PST I am posting no opinion on this article, right or wrong. I am simply forwarding an article found and saved to my personal files for a future reference if needed.
By BRADY McCOMBS and RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Mormon church announced a campaign Tuesday for new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination while somehow also protecting people who assert their religious beliefs.
"We must find ways to show respect for others whose beliefs, values and behaviors differ from ours while never being forced to deny or abandon our own beliefs, values and behaviors in the process," a church elder, Jeffrey R. Holland, said in announcing the church's position.
Mormon leaders did not explain just how it would draw lines between gay rights and religious freedoms, and it's unclear how much common ground the church will gain with this campaign. The church insists it is making no changes in doctrine, and still believes that sex is against the law of God unless it's within a marriage between a man and a woman.
But the new approach could profoundly change political calculations in the Mormon strongholds of Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, where the church and its members play a large civic role.
In Utah, where most state lawmakers are Mormon, the announcement was cheered after years of failed efforts to pass anti-discrimination measures.
"What the LDS church did today was historic," said Democratic state Sen. Jim Dabakis, who was raised Mormon and is openly gay. "This was a bold, strong, principled statement ... today we are seeing the fruits of civility and respect."
The gay-rights group Equality Utah also applauded, saying LGBT rights can co-exist with freedoms of religious individuals.
But national advocates on both sides were dismissive.
The Rev. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention called the Mormon leaders "well-intentioned, but naive" about animosity toward religious exemptions. And Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, called it "deeply flawed." The First Amendment's protection of religious freedom "does not give any of us the right to harm others, and that's what it sounds like the proposal from the Mormon church would do - it would allow a doctor to refuse to care for a lesbian because of his religious beliefs, for example," said James Esskes, who directs the LGBT project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The campaign is the latest example of a shift in tone on gay rights by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counts 15 million members worldwide. They have moved away from harsh rhetoric and are preaching compassion and acceptance of gays and lesbians now that gay marriage is legal in Washington D.C. and 36 states including Utah.
"Accommodating the rights of all people - including their religious rights - requires wisdom and judgment, compassion and fairness," said Holland, who appeared at a rare news conference with two other apostles from the church's governing Quorum of the Twelve.
"Politically, it certainly requires dedication to the highest level of statesmanship. Nothing is achieved if either side resorts to bullying, political point scoring or accusations of bigotry."
The Mormon church will back laws that protect "vital religious freedoms for individuals, families, churches and other faith groups while also protecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodation in hotels, restaurants and transportation," said Dallin H. Oaks, another apostle.
Mormon leaders still want to hire and fire workers based on their religious beliefs as well as behavior standards known as honor codes, which require gays and lesbians to remain celibate or marry someone of the opposite sex. The church also wants legal protections for religious objectors who work in government and health care, such as a physician who refuses to perform an abortion, or provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.
"It is one of today's great ironies that some people who have fought so hard for LGBT rights now try to deny the rights of others to disagree with their public policy proposals," Oaks said.
Accommodations for religious objectors have factored into every state legislative debate over gay rights. But rights advocates have gained leverage as support for same-sex marriage grows. In some states, such as Arizona, even business leaders are on their side, saying broad religious exemptions hurt a state's image.
But religious conservatives also mobilized after the U.S. Supreme Court set a broad expansion of gay marriage in motion last year, pressing states to allow some groups, companies and people to refuse some benefits or service for gay spouses. And gay rights groups seeking job and housing protections have faced an uphill battle in the more politically and religiously conservative states.
Much has changed since Mormons led a fight against same-sex unions in California.
Given the "current contentious atmosphere that exists among people of different views on these subjects," Oaks said, "we wish to promote a more Christian, a more civil and considerate tone."
Associated Press write Michelle L. Price contributed to this story in Salt Lake City.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a news conference at the Conference Center, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Salt Lake City. (Source: AP/Rick Bowmer)
This material was copied and pasted to my personal files for my personal information for future reference. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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