Like Mormon pioneers in the 1850s, gay-rights supporters pulled a handcart through Salt Lake City on Wednesday in what they dubbed a “rescue” mission, The Salt Lake City Tribune reports.

The Foundation for Reconciliation carted more than 2,000 petition signatures to LDS Church headquarters, calling on the church to salvage relations with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families.

The group, comprised of present and past Mormons, contends that LDS policies on homosexuality have had a harmful effect on many Mormon families.

Foundation organizer Cheryl Nunn says the petition is a reaction to the church’s support for Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in California.

The group delivered a trunk, filled with the signatures and other materials, to Mark Burton, a member of the church’s public affairs staff, outside the Church Office Building downtown.

Tags: LDS, LGBT Rights, Marriage Equality, Mormons, Petitions, Proposition 8, Salt Lake City, Utah

Filed under: Utah