News (USA)

Salt Lake City Council wants parade to rethink LGBT group’s rejection

SALT LAKE CITY — The legislative arm of Salt Lake City government is formally asking organizers of Utah's biggest parade to allow a Mormon-faith LGBT group to participate in the event. City Council members in a letter made public Friday evening asked the Days of '47 Parade, which honors the Mormon pioneers’ 1847 arrival in the Salt Lake Valley.
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Salt Lake City Council wants parade to rethink LGBT group’s rejection
The group Mormons Building Bridges, participating in Utah Pride in 2012.
The group Mormons Building Bridges, participating in Utah Pride in 2012. Jay Jacobsen

SALT LAKE CITY — The legislative arm of Salt Lake City government is formally asking organizers of Utah’s biggest parade to allow a Mormon-faith LGBT group to participate in the event.

City Council members in a letter made public Friday evening asked the Days of ’47 Parade, a private nonprofit, to rethink its earlier rejection of a bid for a float from Mormons Building Bridges.

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The Days of ’47 parade honors the Mormon pioneers’ 1847 arrival in the Salt Lake Valley.

Parade officials last month cited a policy of rejecting floats they believe might spark political debate and distract from the celebration honoring the Mormon pioneers’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

The letter defies a warning from the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which told council members earlier this week they would tread on free speech if they tried to influence the makeup of a gathering organized by a non-government group.

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