During a rare press conference on Tuesday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it will support nondiscriminiation laws for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. However, they do have one condition - the rights of religious people must be protected as well.
“God is loving and merciful,” Sister Neill Marriott of the LDS Church’s Young Women’s program said, reports Salt Lake City’s Fox 13. “Jesus ministered to marginalized outcasts. It’s for this reason that the church has publicly favored laws and ordinances that protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing and employment.”
Still, other high-ranking members of the church insisted that legislators also need to protect the rights of those who follow the faith.
“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,” Elder Dallin Oaks, member of the church's Quorum of Twelve Apostles, explained.
During his portion of the conference, Oaks cited examples of religious people being pressured. According to CNN, the examples he listed included the mayor of Houston subpoenaing sermon notes from pastors and the resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, who stepped down after it was revealed that he supported California’s Proposition 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,” Oaks noted.
While Mormon leaders said they would support the legislation, they did not say that they will suddenly support gay marriage. However, Elder D. Todd Christofferson stressed that “we are suggesting a way forward in which those with different views on these complex issues can together seek solutions that will be fair to everyone.”
Equality Utah, a group that pushes for LGBT rights in the state, praised the Church’s decision, but noted that they still have their differences.
“Time and again, the LDS Church has affirmed that employers and landlords should not be permitted to discriminate against gay or transgender people,” executive chair Troy Williams said in a statement. “And we agree: There is no reason to allow discrimination in housing or employment practices based solely on a person’s gender identity, expression or orientation.”