LDS Stand On Gays Makes Waves

As Idaho lawmakers held a second day of hearings Tuesday on legislation to add civil rights protections for gays, big news emerged from the Mormon church, which announced support for measures protecting the rights of gays and lesbians as long as religious rights also are protected. The Latter-Day Saints church, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, has big influence in Idaho. A Gallup survey last year estimated that 24 percent of Idaho’s population is Mormon; many members of the church serve in the Idaho Legislature. However, lawmakers said they didn’t think the announcement would change the outcome for HB 2, the measure to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act and prohibit discrimination on those bases in housing, employment and public accommodations/ Betsy Russell , Eye on Boise. More here .