LDS Church comes out for federal bill that recognizes same-sex marriage

In an unexpected move, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave its support Tuesday to a proposed federal law that would not only recognize all legal marriages but also codify ones between same-sex couples.

The Utah-based faith’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” according to a news release posted to the church’s website. “We are grateful for the continuing efforts of those who work to ensure the Respect for Marriage Act includes appropriate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.”

It seems a somewhat of a reversal for the church, which famously put its members and a lot of money behind California’s Proposition 8 in 2008 to oppose same-sex marriage before it was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some perspectives apparently have changed.

“We believe this approach is the way forward,” the release said. “As we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of LGBTQ individuals, much can be accomplished to heal relationships and foster greater understanding.”

The church’s remarks come after the act’s sponsors added an amendment to the House-passed bill exempting religious organizations from providing “services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage.” Neither could the act be used to alter the tax-exempt status of any organization.

“For instance,” stated a one-page fact sheet provided by the office of Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., “a church, university, or other nonprofit’s eligibility for tax-exempt status…would not be affected by this legislation.”

The amendment also specified that the measure did not extend to polygamous marriages.

The Utah-based church’s position is in keeping with the so-called Utah Compromise, which protects LGBTQ individuals from housing and workplace discrimination while also safeguarding some religious rights.

More recently, the church opposed the Equality Act, a 2019 attempt to codify LGBTQ protections into federal law, arguing that it provided “no protections for religious freedom.”

This story will be updated.

from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/F9RLlid