Mormon leaders are calling for statewide gay rights protections in Utah along with safeguards for religious freedom.
Laws supported by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would protect against housing and employment discrimination for
gay and lesbian residents, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
"We call on local, state, and the federal government to serve all of their people by passing legislation that protects vital religious freedoms for individuals, families, churches and other faith groups while also protecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodation in hotels, restaurants, and transportation — protections which are not available in many parts of the country," Elder Dallin H. Oaks said in a statement.
Church leaders say the church still believes it's against the law of God to have sex outside marriage between a man and a woman, but said "we must all learn to live with others who do not share the
same beliefs or values," The Associated Press reported.
Mormon leaders also want legal protections to apply its own rules within church-affiliated charities, schools, businesses, and properties, including hiring and firing workers based on religious beliefs, the AP said. It also wants to protect religious objectors, such as a physician who refuses to perform an abortion or provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.
"It is one of today's great ironies that some people who have fought so hard for LGBT rights now try to deny the rights of others to disagree with their
public policy proposals," Oaks said, according to CNN.
Twitter users had mixed reactions.
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