Mormon leaders are trying to find a middle ground in the battle between gay rights and religious freedom. They insist that both problems should be a national priority. A rare news conference at church headquarters in Salt Lake City was held, and the leaders of the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints condemned the discrimination against gays, and vowed to support them. They wish to protect people from being denied jobs or housing because of sexual orientation. They claim that discriminating against sexual orientation is just as bad as discriminating against race or gender. Now that the church backs nondiscrimination laws it will will make those laws more likely to pass after being stalled in Legislature for so long. The Mormon leaders however, have made it clear that they will not be changing the doctrine, which says that marriage can only be between a man and a women. They say that the doctrine is a scared Scripture, and they are not at liberty to change it. The church is now trying to position itself in favor of both gay rights and the conservative religious opposition to gay rights. The Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights organization, says that the Mormon leaders' endorsement is meaningful but it is flawed. This move has been called well intentioned but naive. They have confidence though, that now with the help from the Mormon leaders, a bill that would ban housing and employment discrimination based on someone's sexuality or gender identity.
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