LDS Church ‘Comes Out’ in Support of SLC Gay Rights Ordinance
by Matt Canham, Derek Jensen and Rosemary Winters
The Salt Lake Tribune
In a rare move, the LDS Church announced Tuesday night its support of Salt Lake City’s proposed ordinances protecting gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing and employment.
“The church supports these ordinances,” said spokesman Michael Otterson, “because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage.”
They also are entirely consistent, he said, with church teachings.
“I believe in a church that believes in human dignity and treating people with respect when we disagree … especially when we disagree.”
The move was hailed by leaders of Utah’s gay community — some of them stunned — who called it groundbreaking policy that they hope will set the stage for statewide legislation.
“We’re really excited. This is a great step,” said Will Carlson, director of public policy for the gay-rights advocacy group Equality Utah. But, he noted, four out of five gay Utahns live outside of the capital and should be afforded protection as well.
“Equality Utah will continue to work for that,” Carlson said.
The anti-discrimination ordinances, expected to win unanimous support by year’s end from the council would make it illegal to fire or evict based on sexuality.
Tuesday’s announcement follows more than two months of secret meetings between midlevel LDS officials and five of Utah’s most prominent gay leaders. And those meetings have their roots in the “kiss-in” protests that took place after LDS security detained two gay men on the church’s Main Street Plaza after they were seen hugging and kissing.
Former City Council member Deeda Seed organized the first kiss-in protest and called current Council Chairman Carlton Christensen to talk it over. Christensen then suggested to LDS leaders that a dialogue with Utah’s gay community may ease hostilities.
The officials thought it was worth a shot. They reached out to the leaders of Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, suggesting they huddle at the Church Office Building. The gay leaders suggested a coffee shop at the Utah Pride Center. They both settled on a neutral location — the Avenues home of Sam and Diane Stewart. The Stewarts are active Mormons and close friends of Jim Dabakis, who helped found Equality Utah and the Pride Center.
Suspicion marred the initial meetings. Some parties expected the talks to result in nothing.
“These were two communities living in the same town that just had no understanding of each other whatsoever,” Dabakis said. “It was quite uncomfortable in the beginning.”
Slowly they built a level of trust and good will. They searched for common ground, understanding that the LDS Church wasn’t about to back gay marriage and Utah’s gay leaders would not stop pushing for what they consider a civil right.
The meetings fizzled a few weeks ago, but then Dabakis got a call from an LDS official asking to once again reconvene the “gang of five.”
They met four times since Thursday in the lead up to Tuesday’s announcement.
The LDS Church sees the announcement as an olive branch to the gay community after months of growing tension over the church-backed Proposition 8 vote — barring gay marriage in California — and the kiss-in protests. Dabakis hopes it isn’t the end of the discussion, but the beginning.
“The discussions we have had over the last several months have shown what a caring, loving concerned institution [the LDS Church] is,” Dabakis said. “It changed all of our lives. They haven’t given up any beliefs, and we are likely to continue to disagree on issues, but we developed serious friendships.
“They are really trying to put some of the Prop 8 stuff behind them.”
Despite the fact everyone in the clandestine meetings was LDS or gay, Seed describes the tone as sincere and says minds remained open.
“What everyone found is that we really liked each other. There was a good rapport,” she said. “It reaffirmed for me the power of people talking to each other — even if you have incredible differences. You start to see the humanity.”
Indeed, Seed says, the meetings were emotional. Gay leaders recounted “horrible” anecdotes about being shut out of decisions regarding a partner’s will, hospice decision or general medical care near the time of death.
“It’s the power of stories,” she added. “We had tears in our eyes.”
If enacted, the measures would be the first of their kind in Utah. The proposed laws — a campaign promise by Mayor Ralph Becker — would apply to allegations of bias that occur in Salt Lake City and set up a complaint process.
Nationally, more than 100 cities have enacted such protections for gay and transgender people. Recently, residents of Kalamazoo, Mich., voted by a large margin to include sexual orientation and gender identity in an anti-discrimination law.
The Sutherland Institute, a conservative Salt Lake City think tank, opposes the anti-discrimination laws. The group has encouraged the Utah Legislature to quash the measures, if they pass, and prevent other municipalities from following Salt Lake City’s lead. The institute argues laws that recognize sexual orientation and gender identity lead to gay marriage.
Utah has a constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage.
Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah, applauded Becker for backing protections she would “love to see” implemented across Utah. She confirmed her group participated in “ongoing meetings” with LDS officials, but no one is sure whether the church support will extend to statewide policy.
Equality Utah pushed a collection of bills in the 2009 Legislature that would have enacted protections, including protection from housing and employment discrimination, after the church said it does not oppose certain legal protections for same-sex couples.
“That didn’t hold much weight or sway with our Legislature,” Balken said. Each of the so-called Common Ground bills fizzled.
Balken said she was not given any indication that the church might respond to Equality Utah’s invitation to join the Common Ground Initiative, which will return in 2010.
A church endorsement, she said, would be her “dream world.” But she said, “I’ve not heard anyone allude to that. I would be stunned.”
State Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City and one of three openly gay Utah lawmakers, hopes the church backs a statewide initiative.
“If this is good and right and OK for Salt Lake City,” he said, “why wouldn’t it be good and right and OK for all the citizens in Utah?”
During the meetings, participants note both sides spoke philosophically about the need for public policy to be formed without fear of reprisal from the Legislature.
Becker’s legislative liaison, Ben McAdams, says he is optimistic the church endorsement will provide cover for state lawmakers who otherwise may propose legislation to kill the city’s anti-discrimination proposal. And it may deflate the fiery rhetoric expressed by conservatives, including Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.
“This will make the legislative session a lot easier,” McAdams said.
Text of LDS statement on anti-bias proposal
“Good evening. My name is Michael Otterson, and I am here tonight officially representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The nondiscrimination ordinance being reviewed by the City Council concerns important questions for the thoughtful people of this community.
“Like most of America, our community in Salt Lake City is comprised of citizens of different faiths and values, different races and cultures, different political views and divergent demographics. Across America and around the world, diverse communities such as ours are wrestling with complex social and moral questions. People often feel strongly about such issues. Sometimes they feel so strongly that the ways in which they relate to one another seem to strain the fabric of our society, especially where the interests of one group seem to collide with the interests of another.
“The issue before you tonight is the right of people to have a roof over their heads and the right to work without being discriminated against. But, importantly, the ordinance also attempts to balance vital issues of religious freedom. In essence, the church agrees with the approach which Mayor [Ralph] Becker is taking on this matter.
“In drafting this ordinance, the city has granted common-sense rights that should be available to everyone, while safeguarding the crucial rights of religious organizations, for example, in their hiring of people whose lives are in harmony with their tenets, or when providing housing for their university students and others that preserve religious requirements.
“The church supports this ordinance because it is fair and reasonable and does not do violence to the institution of marriage. It is also entirely consistent with the church’s prior position on these matters. The church remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman.
“I represent a church that believes in human dignity, in treating others with respect even when we disagree — in fact, especially when we disagree. The church’s past statements are on the public record for all to see. In these comments and in our actions, we try to follow what Jesus Christ taught. Our language will always be respectful and acknowledge those who differ, but will also be clear on matters that we feel are of great consequence to our society.
“Thank you.”
The proposed ordinances would:
» Forbid housing and employment discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity in Salt Lake City.
» Exempt religious organizations, businesses with fewer than 15 employees and some small landlords. (The exemptions mirror those in state and federal laws.)
» “Not create any special rights or privileges,” the ordinances state, because “every person has a sexual orientation and a gender identity.”
» Create a complaint and investigation process. The complaint could be resolved through mediation or a fine of up to $1,000.
» Not create a “private right of action” to sue in court over alleged discrimination.
» Require annual reports by the city’s Human Rights Commission on the effectiveness of the statutes.
Source: Salt Lake City