Gay Rights Victory In Salt Lake City

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the most prominent church in Utah

. Consequently, some individuals feel that the church's views strongly sway many of the laws and ordinances within each city. One of the most significant stances that the LDS Church has taken is for pro-marriage between a man and a woman.

That may be why a lot of people will be shocked to know that the church sent a representative to a Salt Lake City council meeting on Tuesday, November 10th to help defend and support the gay activist group that was attempting to have two nondiscrimination ordinances passed, which would allow gays and lesbians certain rights and protections that they did not previously possess.

The church made a statement in November of 2008 which said that they were not anti-gay, but rather they were pro-marriage between a man and a woman. They also went further to say that they were not opposed to equal rights for gays and lesbians in regards to hospital rights, employment rights, housing rights, and probate rights.

Even with the church's statement last fall, the bills that were proposed to the Utah state legislature did not make it out of committee for a vote. This was disheartening for the gay community of Utah, but they vowed to continue to work behind the scenes.

They gay rights activist group followed through on their word and they were able to submit two nondiscrimination ordinances before the Salt Lake City council for a vote. With the backing of the LDS church and the personal stories of those who have suffered horrible accounts of discrimination, the ordinances passed unanimously.

The passing of these ordinances may seem like a small victory to those who are not from the state of Utah or uninformed residents, but for those who understand the status quo and culture in Utah, they understand that this can be a major turning point for overall gay rights.

By succeeding in a smaller city election, particularly with the backing of the church like they had today, the odds of the gay rights activist group to get a bill to pass statewide for nondiscrimination will go up significantly. The precedence set in Salt Lake City will most likely have a domino effect on other city governments, as well as the state.

by: Art Gib

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