United Methodist delegates defeat bid to ease LGBT bans

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The United Methodist Church faces a likely surge in defections and acts of defiance now that delegates have rejected a move to ease the church’s ban on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy.
The delegates from the U.S. and abroad are meeting in St. Louis to set policy for America’s second-largest Protestant denomination, with 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States.
The vote was taken Tuesday. Delegates are now