Latter-day Saint leaders support Arizona’s new gay rights bill. Here’s what they’ve said on the issue in the past

The Arizona Capitol in Phoenix.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Latter-day Saint leaders expressed help Monday for a brand new invoice in Arizona that would supply spiritual freedom and LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

Why it issues: Lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals face discrimination in housing and employment.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped suggest and help the 2015 Utah Compromise that prolonged authorized protections in housing and employment to LGBT individuals whereas concurrently codifying protections for spiritual liberty.
• The church now has introduced help for each the brand new Arizona invoice and the federal Equity for All Act earlier than Congress.

The information: The Arizona invoice will probably be filed within the state Legislature at present and has bipartisan help, leaders stated this morning at a joint information convention on the the garden of the Arizona Capitol. The invoice would ban conversion remedy.

• Leaders from main LGBT advocacy teams had been joined by Arizona political, enterprise and non secular leaders, together with the speaker of the Republican-controlled Home and the mayor of Mesa. The information convention may be seen on Fb.
• The Church of Jesus Christ didn't converse on the information convention however launched a press release afterward on an official church web site: “The church is happy to be a part of a coalition of religion, enterprise, LGBTQ individuals and group leaders who've labored collectively in a spirit of belief and mutual respect to deal with points that matter to all members of our group. It's our place that this bipartisan invoice preserves the spiritual rights of people and communities of religion whereas defending the rights of members of the LGBTQ group, in keeping with the ideas of equity for all.”
• Be taught extra in regards to the Arizona invoice right here.

The larger image: Congress and statehouses across the nation are grappling with balancing LGBTQ safety and non secular liberty.

• In 2019, when the invoice often known as the Equity for All Act was launched in Congress, Latter-day Saint management stated, “the nation is extra united when various people and teams can work cooperatively to advance sound coverage.”
• In November, President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency stated the nation’s believers ought to respect authorized efforts to guard individuals from discrimination as a lot as they want to guard spiritual liberty.
• “We should not permit fears about shedding our personal freedoms make us insensitive to others’ claims for theirs,” he stated on the College of Virginia. “Allow us to unite with those that advocate nondiscrimination to hunt a tradition and legal guidelines that respect the rights of all to the equal safety of the regulation and the precise to the free train of faith.”

Who was there: Monday’s press convention included a leaders from a variety of Arizona management.

• Rep. Rusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of Arizona’s Home of Representatives, and two state representatives, Rep. Amish Shah and Rep. Daniel Hernandez, who're Democrats, attended. Mesa Mayor John Giles additionally attended. The Arizona invoice is sponsored by Shah and co-sponsored by Bowers.
• Three LGBT advocacy teams joined the announcement, together with Michael Soto, government director of Equality Arizona; Angela Hughey, president of ONE Neighborhood; and Nate Rhoton, government director of one.n.ten, which helps LGBTQ youth.
• Robert Heidt, president and CEO of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, and John Graham, CEO and chairman of Sunbelt Holdings, represented the enterprise group.
• Bishop Jennifer Reddall, of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, was joined by a number of native religion leaders, together with Latter-day Saints.