Iowa religious
leaders push for gay rights bill

On Tuesday more than a dozen ministers and religious leaders came together in Des Moines to advocate an expansion of Iowa's civil rights laws and pressure the legislature to offer new protections for LGBT residents, reports the Associated Press. "Civil rights laws are designed to protect groups of people who have faced blatant and historic discrimination," said Carol Ryan Terrell, head of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa and Action Fund. "Civil rights laws do not give special protection to any person. They simply create a level playing field and guarantee the provision of tools necessary to fight and end discrimination." As reported by AP, a measure to expand Iowa's civil rights laws has already been through the senate and is currently with the house. The measure bans discrimination in the workplace and in housing. The Reverend Michael Pater, senior minister of the Urbandale United Church of Christ, told AP that resistance to gay rights comes from conservative religious and political groups who refuse to see multiple points of view on issues of religion and morality. "The only motivation to withhold civil protection from discrimination and harassment of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered is religious bias," said Pater. "This bias does not serve the public good." (The Advocate)