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Mormons back housing, job rights for Salt Lake gays: A patch of common ground

With the passage in November of nondiscrimination laws in Salt Lake City that expand gay rights, Mormon officials and gay activists have found a patch of common ground in Utah’s capital.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and gay organizations both advocated for the laws that prevent discrimination in housing and employment. That shows there are some issues on which conservative religious groups and gay rights supporters can agree, said Will Carlson, director of public policy at Equality Utah, a gay rights organization.

Calvin College agrees to study faculty limits on gay-rights advocacy: A matter of academic freedom

A controversial memo at Calvin College, which was adopted in May and publicly surfaced in August, said it is unacceptable for Calvin faculty and staff to teach, write or advocate counter to Christian Reformed Church policies on homosexuality.

The board of trustees had affirmed a 2008 statement backing the college’s commitment to the denomination’s tenets on homosexuality: the practice is sinful, but the orientation is not.