This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Mormon church is finally doing something ecumenical: insisting that the report on religious freedom and civil liberties is bad for the world. Mormon leaders weren't ecumenical during the black Civil Rights movement, when white preachers and rabbis joined the thousands of blacks fighting for their rights. But now that society at large has realized gays deserve equality, too, suddenly they want to join forces with other homophobes to make sure that doesn't happen.

To be clear, no one has said that Mormons can't treat their own members any way they want. No one has said Mormons can't refuse to let gay members marry in the temple. No one has said Mormons can't excommunicate gay members who choose to marry civilly. No religious freedoms are being taken away from them except the "right" to enforce their homophobia on others not of their religion through secular law.

They say it's not fair to "label" them as bigots just because they want to discriminate against non-Mormons they don't like. But I'm afraid that's exactly what bigotry is. It's also bigotry to discriminate against gay Mormons, of course, but they do have that right, and no one is taking it away.

Johnny Townsend

Seattle, WA