Unitarians to discuss community Sunday
The Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris will give a presentation called “We Bid You Welcome” at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango, 419 San Juan Drive.
The presentation will address the meaning of community. The fellowship will celebrate this unity, both old and new.
For more information, www.durangouu.org.
Utah governor signs anti-discrimination bill
SALT LAKE CITY – A Mormon-church-backed anti-discrimination bill that protects LGBT Utah residents and religious rights became law Thursday with Gov. Gary Herbert’s signature.
The House of Representatives voted 65-10 to pass the bill Wednesday. The Senate passed it March 6.
The bill earned a rare endorsement from the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which helped fast-track the measure through the Legislature.
Conservative opponents argued the proposal, which is limited to housing and employment, doesn’t go far enough to protect religious rights.
The law doesn’t address thornier discrimination questions about whether a business can refuse to serve someone for religious reasons, such as a wedding photographer who objects to photographing a same-sex marriage.
The Mormon church has said it is fully behind the legislation, which follows the principles set out in its call for laws that balance religious rights and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The church’s support for the measure comes as the faith’s leaders have softened their tone in recent years regarding same-sex attraction. While moving away from harsh rhetoric and preaching compassion and acceptance, the LDS church insists it is not changing doctrine and still believes sex is against the law of God unless it’s within a marriage between a man and a woman.
Herald Staff & Associated Press
