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Consider celebrating Pride month this year by coming out to your ward on Sunday, June 3 By David Melson, Washington, D.C., Chapter Leader June is traditionally celebrated in the LGBT community as Pride month, both in commemoration of Stonewall and as a celebration of who we are. Consider this an invitation to celebrate the unique blessing of being LGBT LDS this June. Affirmation's membership runs the gamut, from those who are active members of the LDS Church to those who want nothing to do with the Church. Members of the Church, in contrast to the General Authorities that they sustain, are becoming just as divided on their views of LGBT members. Last June, on the first Sunday of Pride Month, two of us stood up before our respective wards in the Washington, D.C., area and we bore our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of our faith, and of our knowledge that we were sons of loving Heavenly Parents. We also bore our testimony that as gay men, we did not always feel welcome within the Church that we loved. We were following in the footsteps of a Seattle Chapter leader who came out to his ward during testimony meeting and challenged others in Affirmation to do the same. We walked into those testimony meetings with full knowledge of the possible consequences. They say that you never fully love someone until you have reached the point of being willing to risk losing them. Sam Wolfe and I loved the members of the Church enough to take that risk. Other Affirmation members stood up and came out to the congregation as well. We each experienced the warmth and embrace of members of who praised us for our courage and who expressed their support and their love for us. A few people came out to us. Sam and I each felt a huge wave of emotion and a tremendous testimony of the Holy Spirit, stronger than anything that we had felt in many years, that what we had done was right. I have prayed and pondered and asked. I know that one of the greatest blessings that my Heavenly Parents have bestowed upon me was being sent here to earth at this time as a gay man. Three weeks after we bore our testimonies, I stood before Sam's “Court of Love” and spoke of Sam's love of the gospel, of his sacrifice, and again I bore my testimony. Sam was excommunicated at 2:00 in the morning on a stormy night, secure in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit was with him. In my stake, a member of the Stake Presidency stood after I had born my testimony and spoke with tears in his eyes of my dedication and courage; no action was taken and I continue to hold a stake calling—in spite of the fact that I have not attended a church meeting in over three years except for that one Sunday last June. The world is changing. The LDS Church will change. There are many wards and stakes where out gays and lesbians hold church callings and even a few where they attend the temple. But change will only happen as people continue to come out of the closet and stand up as who they are, overcoming the ignorance that surrounds us and that breeds the fear that forms the hatred. I ask you to consider celebrating Pride month this year by coming out to your ward on Sunday, June 3. To do so as an act of not only courage and possible sacrifice, but also as an act of love. We are Saturday's Warriors and the time has come.
Washington, DC Conference to Feature Remarkable Authors and Speakers In additional to Keynote Speaker Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the 2007 Conference Committee has announced five additional outstanding individuals who will be joining us on the program in Washington, D.C., this October. Carol Lynn Pearson, playwright, poet, author, will be our very special guest. Her books Goodbye, I Love You and No More Goodbyes have had deep impacts on the lives of countless lesbians and gays and their families, and her incredibly powerful play Facing East, opens off-Broadway later this month. The Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church) has begun to open its doors to LGBT members. Velton Peabody is the secretary of the Welcoming Community Network (which is associated with the Community of Christ) and will bring us up to date on the change in attitude in our sister church, how they got to this point, and the effect that it is having on the members of the church, both straight and gay. Sometime in the next several days, Maryland's highest court will announce its decision on the question of same-gender marriage. The lead plaintiffs in the Maryland marriage case are Gita Deane and Lisa Polyak, a long-term committed couple, the mothers of two beautiful children, and our guests this October. Lisa and Gita will talk about their experiences, about the events leading to the court decisions (an earlier appeals court decision had ruled that the state could not legally refuse them a marriage license), and the effects of the final court ruling. The most visible lobbying organization for LGBT rights is the Human Rights Campaign. Harry Knox is HRC's Director of Religion and Faith Affairs and will be sharing with us some of the progress being made in other faiths, things that are taking place within the Mormon church, and some of the things that we can do to open the hearts and minds of LDS leaders while maintaining the integrity of our own hearts and souls. Previously announced speakers include Jonathan Rauch, author of Gay Marriage: Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America; Jonathan will offer one of the most clear, calm, and reasoned cases for full LGBT civil rights, including marriage, that you have heard anywhere. Dan Furmansky, as Executive Director of Equality Maryland, has been one of the most effective LGBT rights advocates in America; come learn his secrets. Brett Parson was the guiding spirit who formed the largest, strongest, and most effective LGBT advocacy enforcement police units in the country; read the article about him earlier this year in The Advocate, then meet him at conference. Lani and Robert Graves went from church leadership positions and membership in the Tabernacle Choir to LGBT rights activists. Bridget Foster founded the Safe Space Campaign with the support of her husband Will Foster, who was her bishop at the time; they have since left the LDS Church and have a message to share. In addition, a noted actor and playwright will be announcing shortly his newest production in the coming days, all about being too gay and too Mormon in America. You can see it all off-Broadway next year, or see a special performance in Washington this October. With even more speakers to be announced, plus some very special events and experiences planned, you simply do not want to be anywhere else October 5, 6, and 7. The 2007 Affirmation Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, just steps away from the U.S. Capitol Building. Conference registration forms and hotel reservation information are available at www.affirmation.org/conference. And remember, if you register before the end of this month, you receive the “Early Bird” discounted registration fee.
Celebration Will Be Held May 27 in Salt Lake City Affirmation Salt Lake City invites friends and allies in the larger community to join a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons. The event is being held at the Holladay United Church of Christ (2631 E. Murray Holladay Rd) on Sunday, 27 May 2007, 5-8 pm. The evening will start out with a potluck, followed by a program of music, dance, drama, and the spoken word. Affirmation had its beginnings when a small, closely knit group of gay and lesbian students from Brigham Young University, exasperated at the rising number of Mormon suicides, decided to come out of the closet. They banded together into a formal organization during the days of June 10-11, 1977 , while the Salt Lake Conference on Human Rights was in session. Affirmation’s newly elected director announced: We have said “We've had enough.” Gay people are not second-class citizens. We are children of God. We are important people and we have just as much worth as our heterosexual brothers and sisters in the church.First called Affirmation: Gay Mormons United, the name was later changed to Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons. Affirmation has served for many, especially in the heart of Mormondom, as their first tentative contact with the gay/lesbian community. Until very recently, Wasatch Affirmation (as the Salt Lake chapter was previously known) was the only organization offering support to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersexed Mormons. Indeed, for many years, it was one of the only organizations offering support to gay/lesbian Utahns, period, predating institutions the Utah gay/lesbian community now takes for granted: the Utah Stonewall Center, the Human Rights Coalition, the Utah AIDS Foundation, and others.
Connell O’Donovan, a passionate voice for gay rights, will be our keynote speaker. He was born and raised Mormon in Utah, completed a mission to Brazil, married in the Salt Lake Temple, and came out in 1985. Connell was instrumental in founding Queer Nation Utah and the Radical Faerie Circle of Salt Lake. He is currently a free-lance writer and historian living in Santa Cruz, California. He has written and has published many essays on the Queer experience, and lectured on “A Queer History of Mormonism” in San Francisco through the Harvey Milk Institute. We hope to see you May 27 as we celebrate this important milestone in our history. BYU Changes the Honor Code's Section Dealing with Homosexuality by Lisa Hansen On April 12 Brigham Young University changed in its Honor Code the section dealing with homosexuality. The new text defines homosexual behavior as “not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings.” According to the new document, homosexual advocacy includes “seeking to influence others to engage in homosexual behavior or promoting homosexual relations as being morally acceptable.” Kevin Dion, a leader of Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons in Orlando, Florida, applauds the change. “The move by BYU to clarify and to differentiate between sexual orientation and sexual behavior is a positive and welcome step in helping BYU students and faculty to treat our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters with respect and tolerance,” says Dion. “It deserves our strongest applause and recognition.” Hugo Salinas, associate director of Affirmation, disagrees. “All this change does is show that BYU sees homosexual behavior as something completely different from heterosexual behavior,“ says Salinas. “The fact that gay and lesbian students need three additional paragraphs of Honor Code is itself an act of discrimination. The guiding principle of this change is not to help gay and lesbian students, but to give BYU officials grounds to continue disciplining students who kiss their same-sex dates.” The change occurred three weeks after gay and lesbian students urged the BYU administration to clarify its policies. The students were participating in a panel organized by Soulforce Equality Riders near BYU. New Text: Homosexual behavior or advocacy Brigham Young University will respond to homosexual behavior rather than to feelings or orientation and welcomes as full members of the university community all whose behavior meets university standards. Members of the university community can remain in good Honor Code standing if they conduct their lives in a manner consistent with gospel principles and the Honor Code. One's sexual orientation is not an Honor Code issue. However, the Honor Code requires all members of the university community to manifest a strict commitment to the law of chastity. Homosexual behavior or advocacy of homosexual behavior are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code. Homosexual behavior includes not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings. Advocacy includes seeking to influence others to engage in homosexual behavior or promoting homosexual relations as being morally acceptable. Violations of the Honor Code may result in actions up to and including separation from the University. Old Text: Homosexual behavior or advocacy Brigham Young University will respond to student behavior rather than to feelings or orientation. Students can be enrolled at the University and remain in good Honor Code standing if they maintain a current ecclesiastical endorsement and conduct their lives in a manner consistent with gospel principles and the Honor Code. Advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle (whether implied or explicit) or any behaviors that indicate homosexual conduct, including those not sexual in nature, are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code. Violations of the Honor Code may result in actions up to and including separation from the University.
Peaceful Dialogue Denied; Return Visit to Campus Tomorrow (Rexburg, Idaho) — On Monday, April 16th, the Equality Ride (a national tour of gay and straight young adults on a mission to end religion-based discrimination) came to Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho. Eight Riders, including two who grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, were arrested as they attempted to engage the campus in dialogue. The Riders walked on with photos of their families: a message to the community that God affirms lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families as they are. “I am disheartened that the administration would arrest us, silence their students, and promote discriminatory policies rather than open up their hearts and minds to their LGBT students who are suffering in the closet,” said Alexey Bulokhov, Soulforce Equality Ride Co-Director. BYU upholds LDS doctrines that condemn gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from being out and active members in the Church. BYU lists “homosexual conduct” as grounds for expulsion. Melissa Pomeroy, a sophomore at BYU, shared her concern: “I feel like I'm all alone at BYU. There is no way for me to meet others like me, even just to talk, because everyone is so afraid of coming out.” “Many closeted students at BYU have reached out to us in anonymity. Some want to thank us and some want someone to talk to. Overall, it's clear that these students need us to begin this dialogue because they cannot risk being out, and they need to see that it's okay to be gay and Christian — God loves us as we are,” said Cray Gondek, Rider and BYU, Idaho Stop Coordinator. Equality Riders will hold a vigil tomorrow at 4th St and Center from 10 AM - 2 PM. At 5 PM, the Equality Riders will host a Family Picnic at Porter Park (2nd West Street) and all community members and media are welcome to join in food, activities, and discussions. The Soulforce Equality Ride, in its second annual year, is made up of 50 young adults, two buses, and two routes, one eastbound and one westbound. Their first stop in Idaho was at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Along with NNU, the westbound bus has received many welcomes onto campus and has shared a message of inclusion across the Midwest and Pacific Coast. The next stop on the Equality Ride is Yellowstone Baptist College in Billings, Montana, where Equality Riders will bring a hope for dialogue regarding the school's discriminatory policies against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Other Stories Recently Posted at www.affirmation.org Utah Pride Interfaith Service to Be Held May 31 www.affirmation.org/news/2007_049.shtml Mormon Senator Co-sponsors Hate-crimes Bill www.affirmation.org/news/2007_042.shtml The YMCA, Same-Sex Relationships, and the Gospel: An Interview with John Donald Gustav-Wrathall www.affirmation.org/learning/ymca.shtml Mormon Anti-Gay Campaign Inspires Author to Write Novel www.affirmation.org/news/2007_047.shtml “Blessing” Available in DVD Format www.affirmation.org/news/2007_040.shtml The Poetry of Timothy Liu www.affirmation.org/learning/timothy_liu.shtml Gene Robinson Speaks in Favor of New Hampshire Civil Unions www.affirmation.org/news/2007_041.shtml Community of Christ Adopts Anti-discrimination Doctrine www.affirmation.org/news/2007_038.shtml Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons P.O. Box 46022 Los Angeles, CA 90046 National Phone Line: (661) 367-2421 To see a directory of current Affirmation chapters, visit www.affirmation.org/chapters Executive Director: Olin Thomas Senior Assistant Director: Alyson Bolles Assistant Director: James Morris Associate Director & Affinity Editor: (affirmationLDS  earthlink.net)
AFFIRMATION GAY & LESBIAN MORMONS is a non-profit support group serving
Gay and Lesbian Mormons, their families and friends since 1977. AFFINITY
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