Tuesday was a big day for anti-discrimination measures, as Salt Lake City, Utah approved protections for gays in housing and employment - with the support of the Mormon church - and Fort Worth, Texas added transgender protections to their anti-discrimination law.
The Salt Lake City Council unanimously passed the gay anti-discrimination ordinance after a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offered a strong statement in support of the new law.
The ordinance represents "common sense laws that should apply to everyone," said LDS church spokesman Michael Otterson. "The Church supports this ordinance because it is fair and reasonable and does not do violence to the institution of marriage."
Their support for human rights does not extend to same-sex marriage. Yes, they miss the point that marriage is a basic human right, but their position is far ahead of the mobs that protested Anchorage's anti-discrimination ordinance this summer.
Also on Tuesday evening, the Fort Worth City Council voted 6-3 to add transgender protections to its anti-discrimination ordinance, which already includes gays. The mayor supports the measure.
More than 200 people packed the council chambers and overflow rooms. Three transgender people spoke in favor of the ordinance. One man protested against the ordinance by standing on top of his Bible in front of City Hall to symbolize that he was "standing on the word of God."
Despite a crowd of opponents, the council passed the ordinance one week after introducing it.
So Anchorage fell behind two more cities, in Utah and Texas, in our efforts to become a world class city. Even the Mormon church is more progressive than Anchorage on gay rights.
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