Mormon gay rights: A shockg speech by Jefey Holland at BYU sparks a new LGBT fight.

Contents:

• THE MORMON CHURCH ANNOUNC PRO-HOMOSEXUALY POLICY — BUT GAY PARISHNERS SLAM AS NOT ENOUGH
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY ISN'T ENOUGH
• MORMON GIVG AGAST GAY MARRIAGE IN CALIF. TOPS $19 MILLN
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
• ‘THE CHURCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN ANTI-GAY’; LGBT COMMUNY REACTS THE WAKE OF MORMON POLICY RCISSN

THE MORMON CHURCH ANNOUNC PRO-HOMOSEXUALY POLICY — BUT GAY PARISHNERS SLAM AS NOT ENOUGH

But, by no longer nsirg same-sex marriag “apostasy, ” the church has sentially lifted the threat of exmunitn for gay upl, church experts said.

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY ISN'T ENOUGH

Jt two years ago, the church received much public praise for rcdg a 2015 policy, ntroversial among Mormons at the time, that clared the mor children of gay people uld not be baptized to or jo the church as members—at least not until they were 18 years old, and only then if they would nounce their parents’ marriage and nmn their sexualy. Given how ntent the qutn of gay rights has been among Mormons sce the church threw s whole weight behd California’s anti-gay-marriage Proposn 8 2008, the post-2019 perd has been one of wele relative quiet om the church. C., Holland’s speech was the first time I tly worried that my future kids might attend public school wh peers who would be tght about the evils of beg gay, week and week out at church.

The church clud the proclamatn as evince of s doctral mment to a heterosexual fay s amic brief agast gay marriage Hawaii jt two years later. Mormonism is now facg a world which not only the majory of outsirs, but also a signifint portn of their own membership—cludg s own universy’s faculty—seem to regnize that doctre for what is: a list of proposns phrased as irrefutable tths, issued by a group of men who grew up wh homophobia suffg every stutn their liv.

He sgled out one openly gay BYU alum particular, former valedictorian Matt Easton, who me out as gay his 2019 mencement speech. The same day Holland issued his revanchist addrs to the faculty, BYU’s admistratn was openg and publicizg s new Office of Belongg, a long-sought-for refuge not only for BYU’s growg number of openly gay stunts, but also s relig and racial mori, who are reported to face wispread bias and prejudice on mp, acrdg to a report issued by an ternal Commtee on Race, Equy, and Belongg.

MORMON GIVG AGAST GAY MARRIAGE IN CALIF. TOPS $19 MILLN

Still, today, the church funnels members who nfs to feelg “same-sex attractn” to support groups that enurage members to enter heterosexual marriag, wh promis that the gay feelgs will be overe after sufficient fahfulns, or at least, ath.

Matt Easton has ced the wily publicized 2016 ath by suici of one of his classmat at BYU, Harry Fisher, as part of the reason for his cisn to e out as gay his valedictorian speech.

Due to Mormon teachgs that there is no way to have romantic relatnships wh those of the same sex and be exalted the afterlife, gay Mormons face high rat of lonels, suicidaly, and prsn. Mormons n be homosexual, acknowledge the existence of transsexuals and still stay te to their relign, the Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats (LDS) announced Tuday — but gay parishners immediately pounced on the new stance, slammg the church for not dog a vio posted on a brand-new webse lled "Mormon and Gay, " LDS lear L. Whney Clayton says, "I now speak directly to church members who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian or bisexual.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

The effort appears a stark reversal om the church's passg of unambiguoly anti-gay polici last year, which clud not allowg children of gay parents to be spe apparent acceptance, the church has not amend s stance on marriage, which matas is a sacred bond between a male and a of J Christ of Latter-day Sats Elr L.

()That is not stg right wh some LGBTQ Mormons, who are urgg their elrs to nsir also changg the church's stance on marriage orr to pletely plement s newfound msage of Pack, a transgenr woman active the church, lled the new stance "a step forward, albe a very small step forward" an terview wh The might superficially be preachg acceptance, Pack argued that the church still impli that homosexuals and transsexuals should rema the shadows, or keep their sexuali to themselv.

(Gee Frey/Getty Imag)"They should be clud and weled, not jt the people who choose to be celibate, " she Peterson, 39, intifi as gay but has been married to a straight man for 12 years what she f as a "mixed orientatn marriage.

RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL

"Peterson was ially gog to be featured one of the vios on the "Mormon and Gay" webse but backed out after beme clear to her that the church is still holdg on to the same stance on effort appears a stark reversal om the church's passg of unambiguoly anti-gay polici last year, which clud not allowg children of gay parents to be baptized.

The Mormon church said on Tuday that members of the fah n be gay and acknowledged the existence of transgenr people, but LGBT advot said the statement showed that there was still a long way to go to end Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats (LDS) published a new webse lled Mormon and Gay, featurg vio mentary om LDS lear L Whney Clayton, sayg, “I now speak directly to church members who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian or bisexual. ”The se, which featur ttimonials and summari of church teachgs, marks a parture om the prev page lled Mormons and Gays, wh the subtle swch om plural to sgular servg as an apparent regnn that there are people who intify as both gay and spe the shift msagg, there have been no chang policy, wh the se reeratg that marriage is “between a man and a woman”, meang members of the church should not be same-sex se was unveiled a year after LDS lears passed an explicly anti-gay policy barrg children of married LGBT upl om beg baptized, promptg wispread outrage and reports of a mass exod om the Mormon church.

The le was adopted after the US legalized same-sex marriage and said that Mormon children of gay parents would have to nounce same-sex habatn and leave their fay’s hoe when they turned 18 if they wanted to be web page offers stori om Mormons who intify as gay and acknowledge that havg same-sex attractns is not a choice. But the vios also discs the ways which gay relatnships ntradict church teachgs, such as the story of Josh, a “gay Mormon” who served a full-time missn and said he has chosen to be se was unveiled a year after LDS lears passed an explicly anti-gay policy barrg children of married LGBT upl om beg baptized, promptg wispread outrage and reports of a mass exod om the Mormon church. The short paragraph offers no explanatn of transgenr inty but not that trans people, like gay people, should experience “cln and kdns”.

‘THE CHURCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN ANTI-GAY’; LGBT COMMUNY REACTS THE WAKE OF MORMON POLICY RCISSN

But church lears have largely failed to even acknowledge their existence, and the anti-gay polici have not mentned trans people any form. ”Jena Peterson, a 39-year-old Mormon woman who intifi as gay, said she was ially gog to be featured on the webse but ultimately backed out bee she feared the vio might misreprent her and send a damagg msage to LGBT people. ”While she said she was pleased to see a Mormon webse take on the subject and regnize gay people, she worried that the narrativ uld be harmful by disuragg people om celebratg their inti.