Dubird 6,815 Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Source 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 the gay lifestyle. 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. It's kinda nice to see that kind of support, and I think it's interesting that it's the Mormon church that is supporting those rights, even though they are, in terms of religion, against it. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Myk JL 1,731 Report post Posted November 11, 2009 More gays = more free women =... ... More polygamy... ...... Bad joke...Well I don't have anything against either.After all, humankind is no different then the rest of the animal kingdom when it comes to those situations. Those who fight deplorables should see to it that they themselves do not become deplorables. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted November 12, 2009 I wouldn't trust a Mormon any further then I could throw it Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeathscytheX 9,732 Report post Posted November 12, 2009 Warning:slightly offensive 7q6brMrFw0E Thats all that really needs to be said about mormons... 0_o GET A NEW FUNK ON BEFORE YOU GET DUMPED ON! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Myk JL 1,731 Report post Posted November 13, 2009 Warning:slightly offensive 7q6brMrFw0E Thats all that really needs to be said about mormons... 0_o On the bright side no mention of Eve coming from one of Adam's ribs... That father & daughter relationship is just pure incest... Those who fight deplorables should see to it that they themselves do not become deplorables. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted November 13, 2009 They are coo coo bananas The gods names change over the years but the religions are the same tool of social control.; only now they're tax exempt. Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dubird 6,815 Report post Posted November 13, 2009 I didn't say I supported the Mormon church, I just found it interesting that they're supporting legistlature to legally allow gay marriages even though they themselves are against it. I think leaving it up to the churchs themselves is a much better method, since there are several churchs that support gay marriage, and if a couple still doesn't want to be married by a church, they would still be able to be married by a JP, and legally be recognized as a married couple. It's just not forcing all churchs to allow it, which is really the best compromise that would be workable since this is such a polarized issue. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted November 13, 2009 if a couple still doesn't want to be married by a church, they would still be able to be married by a JP, and legally be recognized as a married couple. bingo baby The religious organizations need to stay the fuck out of politics. If they want to push or promote public policy they should lose tax exempt status. Period. They crusade to deny our citizenry equal protection under the law and control the female body. If they wanna be politickin then they should pay fuckin taxes like the rest of us. Don't worry Dubie I know you don't like dem dere Mormans After all the time effort and cash they blew in Cali to rob ppl of equal rights this bit in Salt Lake don't mean dick. Lieing out of both sides of their mouth. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVuw1wEuaAQ]YouTube- How do we know that Christians are delusional?[/ame] Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dubird 6,815 Report post Posted November 13, 2009 Well, for the record, I have nothing against relgion as a whole, being a religious person myself, but there are some people (and church groups) that make me emberrased to admit that I am a Christian. Yet, I admit to being happily surprised by the stance the Mormon chuch is taking in this matter. It seems like the best compromise, as well as the best way of upholding church and state. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 you're nicer then I am I don't feed the delusional The separation of church and state wasn't a suggestion, it was a founding law. Religious people get all bunched up over marriage, divorce, abortion, homosexuality, even wtf ppl wear; yet they're cool with all of the killing genocide incest slavery pedophilia etc in their holy scriptures. How the fuck ppl reconcile themselves to this shit is beyond me. You cannot cherry pick your scripture you must accept and obey it all to be a true *insert religious brand name here* These organizations PAY NO TAXES but want to influence the political policies of my country?! Fuck no. This is not the middle east, which is a hell hole because of religion having political power. The Mormans Evangelicals and Catholics are the absolute worst of the worst here when it comes to pushing a congregation to bend to the churches political views. If you're going to discuss civil liberties from your pulpit you should be taxed. If religion can't keep its big nose out of politics they need to be taxed. Let us remove their exemption and see how it goes. I'm willing to bet there wont be anymore multi million dollar mega churches built around here, or at the very least wayyyyy fewer. For a moment stop looking at religion as a given and look at it as a business. Who wouldn't want to be the CEO of a company that doesn't have to pay employees, they volunteer! They give you their money time and obedience. What a great gig! Most people wont look at it this way though primarily because their indoctrination took place before they could speak and they were raised to NOT question the most insane things. I find that very often when I confront a religious person they get nervous, rigid, sometimes it ends in anger. It's not all their fault and I try to keep that in mind, they were psychologically (and in some cases physically) conditioned to believe and protect their faith from everyone and everything. As if the fact their faith had to be defended wasn't a clue that they were dealing with smoke and mirrors to begin with >.< ex: a person is taught that peas are called beans and that belief is reaffirmed by everyone around them their whole life. For some reason you befriend the person and one night over dinner they ask you to pass the beans. The debate begins and though you have overwhelming evidence that peas are peas, the person sticks to their bean guns. Peas and beans, pretty insignificant. But violence and war is not, neither is civil liberties or a womans right to control what happens to her own body, even the creation of the solar system and the evolution of life on earth. Its time to put 2000 year old bullshit on the shelf next to mother goose. Most ppl are into the church to participate in something bigger then themselves (funny thats why most people vote too ) If we could steer them away from the nutty end times shit and put all that time cash and energy into climate solutions- something that actually WILL help.... Religion is NOT harmless and peaceful. Killing in the name of god and beliefs of a religion are happening every single day. Disinformation does not grow minds. Like Lennon said Imagine no religion Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
