The New Middle: Gay Rights Okayed by Mormans

In a somewhat surprising move, the Morman church threw its heavy political weight behind an employment and housing anti-discrimination law in Salt Lake City, Utah, as this AP article describes.

Why would they do that? Guilt over their role in Prop 8? The desire to improve their image as not being anti-gay? It appears so. But whatever their motive, they are helping to solidify a growing middle ground for the gay rights movement. Even as states continue to affirm discrimination against gays in marriage, support is growing for equal rights in other areas.





















Apparently, they were able to support this measure because it included exceptions to "allow churches to maintain, without penalty, religious principles and religion-based codes of conduct or rules."

"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. 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."

And in another AP article, Otterson was quoted as saying:

Supporting "basic civil values," Otterson said, does not compromise the church's religious belief that homosexuality is a sin and that same-sex marriage poses a threat to traditional marriage.

There are going to be gay advocates who don't think we've gone nearly far enough, and people very conservative who think we've gone too far," Otterson said. "The vast majority of people are between those polar extremes and we think that's going to resonate with people on the basis of fair-mindedness.

The message, of course, is twisted and inconsistent -- gay "sinners" deserve equal rights and should not be discriminated against... except for in areas where it offends Morman sensibilities and except when it comes to the 1300+ civil state and Federal rights that come with marriage.

But we'll take their support for equal rights in some areas for the progress that it is. Eventually they, and the rest of the public, will see that equal means equal in every area. With hope, that realization will come in latter days ... in the not-so-distant future.