Utah surprise!

Salt Lake OKs gay rights laws
with Mormon backing


By JENNIFER DOBNER (AP)
___ Nov 2009


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 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.

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[ -- Associated Press]
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