More than 27,000
letters have been sent to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints headquarters in Salt Lake City urging the
church to publicly support gay rights bills Utah
legislators are expected to consider in 2009.
More than 27,000
letters have been sent to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints headquarters in Salt Lake City urging the
church to publicly support gay rights bills Utah
legislators are expected to consider in 2009.
The letters were
sent from gays and their allies across the country,
mostly through the Human Rights Campaign, according to KCPW
radio in Salt Lake.
"I think it's
important that we emphasize that this is a respectful
request," Jerry Rapier of HRC told KCPW. "We want to share
people's concerns and feelings directly with the church and
its leaders."
The sudden focus
on Utah's politics comes after LDS, or Mormon, leaders
became ardent proponents of passing California's ban on
same-sex marriage in November. A church elder said the
LDS does not support marriage equality but instead
would be fine with domestic partnerships or civil
unions.
Rapier said the
letter-writing campaign was not an "attack," but
instead an attempt for the church to make good on that
statement. "It's simply an invitation to be a little
more clear with the language," he said, adding,
"Really, the first step is just asking for a direct
statement from the church -- something clear, concise,
and to the point, that leaves no room for
misinterpretation."
The letters were
hand-delivered to Temple Square on Monday, he said,
because thousands of e-mails don't make it through the
church's filter. Church spokesman Scott Trotter said
the LDS did not filter the e-mails, but the volume
caused its e-mail filter to label them as spam. (Michelle
Garcia, Advocate.com)
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