SALT LAKE CITY — The LDS Church joined 18 other religious organizations in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against same-sex marriage.

And on Monday, the church explained in a Web commentary titled "Religious Freedom and Fairness to All" why it signed on to the friend-of-the-court brief with a diverse collection of faith communities.

"Notwithstanding our theological differences, we are united in declaring that the traditional institution of marriage is indispensable to the welfare of the American family and society," according to the brief filed earlier this month.

"We are also united in our belief that a decision requiring the states to license or recognize same-sex marriage would generate church-state conflicts that will imperil vital religious liberties."

The varied denominations, including the National Association of Evangelicals, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Assemblies of God, said the Constitution does not require states to take that "fateful" step.

The amicus brief is one of several with Utah connections filed in the consolidated same-sex marriage cases from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee pending before the Supreme Court. Alexander Dushku of the Salt Lake law firm Kirton McConkie is listed as the lead attorney on the religious organizations' brief.

The justices will consider whether the 14th Amendment requires a state to license marriage between two people of the same sex. It will also decide whether a state must recognize legal gay marriages performed in other states.

Oral arguments are scheduled for April 28. The court is expected to issue a ruling by June 30.

Reasoning behind participation in court brief

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' deep belief in and commitment to marriage between a man and a woman is well known, spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement.

"While we have been outspoken proponents in favor of protections for LGBT people in such areas as housing and employment, we believe that a redefinition of marriage to include same–sex couples has profoundly troubling implications for society in the long-term. We have therefore joined with many other diverse faiths representing tens of millions of Americans in expressing our views to the Supreme Court," Hawkins said.

The LDS Church played a key role in the Utah Legislature last month passing a statewide nondiscrimination law coupled with religious freedom protections. At the church's annual general conference earlier this month, some leaders spoke strongly about traditional marriage and families.

Same-sex marriage became legal in Utah last fall when the Supreme Court declined to hear the state's appeal of lower court rulings that overturned Amendment 3 defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The LDS Church filed briefs in the appeals court supporting the state's position in Kitchen v. Herbert.

In the Web commentary Monday, the church addressed why it supports LGBT rights in housing and employment on the grounds of fairness for all but opposes same-sex marriage. It says it cannot and does not seek to force others — especially those outside the faith — to live their lives in a certain way.

But the court brief argues that legalization of same-sex marriage across the country does far more than grant same-sex couples the right to the same benefits as heterosexual married couples.

"By redefining what marriage has been for most of human history, the court will impede the ability of religious people to participate fully as equal citizens in American civic life," according to the church.

In response to the post, Equality Utah executive director Troy Williams said LGBT Americans live side by side with people of faith, and will continue to do so.

Related:

LDS leaders outline support for marriage for man-woman

LDS Church leaders vowed to be a leading advocate for the belief that marriage is an institution exclusive to a man and a woman during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' biannual conference Saturday that also included two rare events.

"We have too much to offer each other to be constantly at war. I don't believe Mormons would want to live in a world without LGBT people, and I personally don't want to live in a world without Mormons," he said. "My family are faithful Latter-day Saints. We all belong to each other. Like any family, we have to work through our differences in a respectful manner."

According to the brief filed by the church, if the Supreme Court also designates sexual orientation as a class deserving special protection, like race, then "religious believers could find their speech, association, and free-exercise rights diminished or denied in areas such as public education, employment, public accommodations, and professional certification."

"Essentially, religious beliefs in traditional sexual morality could come to be equated with racism," the church says.

The brief argues that having courts resolve those complex social issues is more troublesome than having people resolve them through legislative processes in their own backyards

"Allowing all citizens an equal voice in shaping their common destiny is the only way the diverse views of a free people can be respected on this matter of profound political, social, and religious importance," according to the brief. "That is the only way this issue can be resolved without inflicting grave harm on millions of religious believers and their cherished beliefs and institutions."

Utah leaders, attorneys voice support for traditional marriage

Other organizations and groups in Utah have also weighed in on the Supreme Court case.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is among attorneys general in 15 states urging the court to let states decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage. They argue that the Constitution takes no sides on same-sex marriage, and therefore leaves the issue up to citizens to decide.

Bill Duncan, head of the Lehi-based Marriage Law Foundation, said the court has only identified a new fundamental right such as same-sex marriage if it can show a connection to history. He argues that the nation's legal history has consistent tradition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Brigham Young University law professor Lynn Wardle worked on a brief representing 54 international law experts from 27 countries. It says only 17 nations have legalized same-sex marriage and only Brazil did so by judicial mandate.

Experience suggests that following the normal democratic processes to decide the issue is more successful and results in more legitimate and credible outcomes than courts imposing same-sex marriage, the brief contends.

American Fork lawyer Darrin K. Johns filed a brief representing 12 gay men and their wives. It articulates why "constitutionalizing" same-sex marriage sends harmful messages about those men, their marriages and their families.

"Legalizing same-sex marriage via the 14th Amendment, rather than the ballot box, entitles same-sex couples to marriage only by erasing, marginalizing, and demeaning the same-sex attracted who live in man-woman marriages," according to the brief.

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