Hundreds Of Mormons Walk In Gay Pride Parade

[doggie]

this is cool if it is not a recruiting thing. Hate to be so cynical but when it comes to Christians it is hard not to be.

Over 300 Mormons Join Utah Gay Pride Parade; Mormons Building Bridges Send Message Of Love

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/0 ... 66666.html

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 300 Mormon church members who are not gay drew shouts of approval and tears from spectators while marching in the Utah Gay Pride Parade in downtown Salt Lake City.

[0KidsAndHappy]

I caught a Q&A episode of Sister Wives a week or so ago. They were asked what they would do if they found out any of their kids were gay and (I think it was Christine) whose answer I really liked. She said she had thought about it because with so many children, there is a good chance that one or more could be gay. She also said that her daughter had asked "What would you do if I came out?" and she responded by saying that she would treat her the same way she treats her now with boys ... that possible girlfriends wouldn't be allowed into the room alone and that she better bring her home because she would want to approve, like she would with a boy.

The only one with any sort of hesitation was Robyn, not because she didn't approve of homosexuality, buy because she wouldn't want her children to be hurt by homophobia.

I could only imagine if the Duggars had been asked the same question.

[Esther]

Yes - that's one reason why I like Kody and his wives better than the Duggars. Of course Kody comes across as an asshole and his wives seem kinda unstable a lot of the time, but I genuinely think they want the best for their kids - and I really do think they would stand by their kids if some of them turned out to be gay. That's more than can be said of most fundies.

[BravaAmica]

I'm cynical. Because my first thought was, "Oh, Romney's spin doctors hired 300 people the say they're Mormon and march in a Pride parade."

I just see this as a way to make Mormonism palatable to the mainstream. I hope it doesn't work.

[doggie]

The part that is left out is the total chastity that comes with being gay and a Mormon. That does not work well with humans so in the long run it is not a good thing.

[QAF_Rocks]

I actually think there are a lot of Mormons who are only held back from supporting gay rights because of what their church says. Flash forward 20 or 30 years: when American society gets to the point that homophobia is heavily stigmatized, I predict the LDS church will experience a "revelation" similar to the one in the late 70s when they decided their god was okay with letting black men into the priesthood.

[emesbe]

I wanted to go, and take my teenager. But I didn't know about it far enough in advance to make arrangements. :(

[mirele]

This is actually a cool thing, there wasn't an attempt to recruit people into Mormonism.

Here's Troy Williams' (who has been called, tongue in cheek, the gay mayor of Salt Lake City) take on what happened. He thought it was quite positive.

http://troydwilliams.com/2012/06/04/mor ... tah-pride/

(Not boobytrapping the link, Troy won't care.)

[fluttershies]

Even if it *was* a recruitment thing, Mormons wanting openly LGBTQ people in their church is pretty huge.

[DistantStar]

Naah, they just want people to THINK they want LGBT folks in the church, so they look more "normal" with the election and all. It's a PR thing. There may well be individual members who do, but as an organization? Hell no.

Though it does say something that "normal" is evolving into acceptance, I have to admit.

[freejoytoo]

Aren't Mormons the same ones who pushed Prop 8?

[lilwriter85]

Aren't Mormons the same ones who pushed Prop 8?

I believe some Mormons were heavily involved pushing in Prop 8. On the Get Off My Internets forum, several posters mentioned that some of the Mormon bloggers they had been following were in support of Prop 8. I have come across some very conservative Mormon blogs in which the bloggers talk about why they are against gay marriage, gay people adopting etc. There are a few Mormon bloggers that I follow that never discuss gay marriage or gay rights on their blogs at all. Sometimes I wonder if those particular bloggers are secretly in support of gay rights and marriage equality, but they keep quiet to avoid conflicts with their congregations/wards, fellow Mormon friends and family. A few months back, I was looking at the secrets on Post Secret's site and there was a post card of the Mormon church and the sender said he/she supported gay rights and they disagreed with their church's stance.

[ADoyle90815]

I think it was a publicity stunt for Rommey's campaign myself, but if there are a lot of younger Mormons who disagree with their church, then it's a start. Unfortunately, it will take the old leaders to completely die off before any possible changes are made about accepting gays and lesbians.

[mirele]

I believe some Mormons were heavily involved pushing in Prop 8. On the Get Off My Internets forum, several posters mentioned that some of the Mormon bloggers they had been following were in support of Prop 8. I have come across some very conservative Mormon blogs in which the bloggers talk about why they are against gay marriage, gay people adopting etc. There are a few Mormon bloggers that I follow that never discuss gay marriage or gay rights on their blogs at all. Sometimes I wonder if those particular bloggers are secretly in support of gay rights and marriage equality, but they keep quiet to avoid conflicts with their congregations/wards, fellow Mormon friends and family. A few months back, I was looking at the secrets on Post Secret's site and there was a post card of the Mormon church and the sender said he/she supported gay rights and they disagreed with their church's stance.

And the women who collected the names and amounts of money donated to the pro-Prop 8 campaign and then put on the Internet are also Mormon, and friends of mine. So no, not every Mormon was pro-Prop 8, not in the least. Not everyone went so far as to resign their memberships as I did after Prop 8 passed.

[fluttershies]

Naah, they just want people to THINK they want LGBT folks in the church, so they look more "normal" with the election and all. It's a PR thing. There may well be individual members who do, but as an organization? Hell no.

Though it does say something that "normal" is evolving into acceptance, I have to admit.

I was talking about the individual Mormons.

[StacyW]

Marie Osmond is openly Mormon and believes same sex marriage should be legal, but she has a lesbian daughter, and I think her son who committed suicide was gay.

[lilwriter85]

Marie Osmond is openly Mormon and believes same sex marriage should be legal, but she has a lesbian daughter, and I think her son who committed suicide was gay.

I heard about Marie's kids sometime back. I also heard another rumor somewhere that one of the Osmond brothers has a gay son.

[DistantStar]

I was talking about the individual Mormons.

Yes, but those individuals have next to no say in what the church does in the end, and the church does not want LBGTs. They have made that most abundantly clear. If I were a pro-gay Mormon I'd have left the church after Prop 8, because without a complete turnover in the men at the top (and oh, yes, only men!) absolutely nothing is going to change on this front for decades to come. For those who have the wherewithal to hang on that long, more power to them, but I think it's a losing battle.

Individual Mormons can be awesome, just as people anywhere. But on the subjects of women and LBGTs I remain deeply suspicious of the Mormon hierarchy.

So I don't see why it should be a surprise that some see this as a likely PR stunt. If it's not, I offer my apologies to all involved, but the timing...well, it seems awfully convienient.

[deelaem]

I completely agree, Distant Star. The Mormons are masterful spin doctors. There is no way this would have happened without the priesthood knowing about it. At this point they'd marry toasters in order to get Mittens elected.

[breadprincess]

I was so, SO happy to see this. I am a queer Mormon, and my other queer Mormon friends and I really appreciated the public display. I don't personally know if the Church will change one day and start accepting their LGBT members more fully, but it's something that myself and other LGBT Mormons/ally Mormons would love to see. One of my friends actually gave a testimony about "Big Tent Mormonism" (becoming a more accepting church) yesterday. I was unfortunately home sick and didn't get to see it, but there are a lot more Mormons that are accepting of LGBT people and their rights than a lot of people realize.

[Minerva]

The part that is left out is the total chastity that comes with being gay and a Mormon. That does not work well with humans so in the long run it is not a good thing.

This. I have learned to be suspicious of any fundie or fundie light Christian group that claims to not be homophobic for this reason.

[Beammeup]

I do not believe this was organized by anyone but rank and file Mormons. The people that marched are wonderful and are brave. I would guarantee that some of them will be called into bishop's offices to discuss their participation. There are many regular ol' Mormons who take great issue over the way the LDS church handled Prop 8, but didn't resign over the issue.

I would have been there, except I didn't know it was happening. You will find my name among proud against prop H8 donors.

[DistantStar]

I sure hope you're right, Beammeup. Honestly, I do, except for the being called onto the carpet over it.