Harry Reid declines comment on Kelly excommunication

Washington - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has had private conversations about the excommunication of Kate Kelly, who founded a movement to ordain women in the LDS Church, but Reid declined to say how he personally feels about the move by his faith.Reid, the highest ranking Mormon in public office, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he didn't want to discuss his position on Kelly's removal from church rolls or the idea of ordaining women into the priesthood. Reid said he'd talked with his family about the topic but suggested the reporter move on when pressed about his feelings."I don't do religion here," Reid told the Review-Journal on Thursday in his Capitol office. "I do a lot of things but I don't do religion. It's a personal thing to me. I've had discussions with my family on all these issues. I had one last night, but it's not something I do publicly."Last November, Reid bucked his faith's position on gay marriage saying that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members are evolving on their views on gay rights."When I attend church here in Washington, D.C., I bet more people agree with me than disagree with me, and so the church is changing, and that's good," Reid said.The LDS Church issued a statement shortly thereafter to affirm that its position on marriage - that it is between one man and one woman - has not changed."Marriage between a man and a woman is central to God's plan for the eternal destiny of His children. As such, traditional marriage is a foundational doctrine and cannot change," the church said.— Thomas BurrTwitter.com/thomaswburr