The senses. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney are expected to support anti-discrimination bills now before Congress.

As a religious leader and parent from Utah, I call on Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee to help find common ground that guarantees fairness and equality for all Americans. For decades, Congress neglected its responsibility to protect the LGBTQ community, but with both parties now proposing to add discrimination protections to federal law, that may finally be changing. I count on our senators to help me clarify the details of this crucial bill.

For the past four years I have served as a minister of the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City. LGBTQ people serve in the leadership of our congregation and marry and raise their children here. First Unitarian participates in the city’s annual Interfaith Pride Service and our church walks alongside Utah’s other five Unitarian congregations each year in the Salt Lake Pride Parade.

For me, it’s also personal. What I know about the LGBTQ community is informed not only by my work, but also by my own personal experience. I identify as bisexual and my husband and I are raising a 14 year old non-binary child. I remember the message I heard as a college student from teachers not to come out in this profession or risk losing a job.

As a parent, I know my teen will face barriers as they grow into adults – from obtaining proper government documents reflecting their gender identity to accessing quality health services. At the same time, my husband and I appreciate that they lead a privileged life, with the love and support of their family and home in a supportive community of faith. We were pleasantly surprised at how welcoming their school is in respecting their gender identity.

Not all LGBTQ youth in Utah share this good fortune — sadly, that’s unsurprising given statements by prominent government officials and faith leaders in September. Just days after a lesbian couple was found shot dead at a Moab campsite, a religious leader has urged those opposed to same-sex marriage to use muskets to defend their beliefs, a message echoed in line by an Ogden politician who wrote, “Time to get our muskets out” in response to a Layton high school welcoming LGBTQ students. The negative attention towards this high school’s inclusive posture first came from a member of the state school board.

Even though institutions such as the Utah Pride Center and Salt Lake Encircle improve the city’s climate for our LGBTQ residents, too often the state’s LGBTQ youth don’t get the support they deserve in their schools. Statistics show that Utah has seen a devastating increase in youth suicides in recent years. I worked with The Peculiar, an inspirational group for Mormon parents and families of young LGBTQ people aiming to provide loving support for their children. The organization was founded by parents who lost their child to suicide.

I’m glad Utah made a start in state legislation to address discrimination, but as a nation, we have a long way to go. I learned that one in three LGBTQ Americans, according to a 2020 survey, have experienced discrimination — in public spaces, at work, at school, and in their own neighborhoods — the previous year only.

This number rises to 60% among transgender people, who experience exceptionally high levels of unemployment and homelessness. They are also plagued with violence, with a record 44 hate-motivated killings nationwide last year.

Black and Latino LGBTQ people face higher rates of poverty than communities of color in general. Less than half of the states protect young people in the community from bullying at school. Older people often have to close themselves off, with almost half of same-sex couples reporting discrimination in finding senior housing.

Fortunately, there is now hope that Congress might finally act. For the first time, Democrats and Republicans have proposed measures to add LGBTQ protections to our civil rights laws. The major disagreement between the two sides concerns the balance between the urgent need to protect LGBTQ people and the religious freedom that Americans cherish.

Finding a way to do this work is what legislators do when they engage in solving problems, and meanings. Romney and Lee can turn to the 21 states that ban anti-LGBTQ discrimination without compromising religious freedoms.

Washington may follow suit, with senators stretching across the aisle to end the divisive pattern pitting religious freedoms against the rights of LGBTQ Americans. Every major advance in civil rights — from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Americans with Disabilities Act — has struck the right balance.

Senators Romney and Lee: One hundred thousand LGBTQ Utahns, their families and friends are counting on you.

Tower. Monica Dobbin is a pastor at the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City.