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Queer Students at BYU Being Held to Invisible Standard

BYU Provo Honor Code March by Jacob Payne
BYU Provo, Credit: Jacob Payne

by Kate Mower

January 25, 2022

 

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by Kate Mower

The BYU federal investigation hinges on the Law of Chastity. It says that queer students in same-sex relationships are held to different Law of Chastity rules than straight students, but — after the homosexuality clause was removed in 2020 from BYU’s Honor Code — there is no longer a written part of the Honor Code that makes the distinction between what the Law of Chastity is for straight students and what it is for queer students.

Without that distinction written in the Honor Code, or even in the Church’s General Handbook, queer students are being held to an invisible standard. Since queer students are being disciplined for a rule that no longer exists (the Family Proclamation nor any other official stance of the Church mentions anything about pre-marriage dealings, only that you must keep the Law of Chastity), they are being discriminated against for doing things that abide by the Law of Chastity (holding hands, kissing) but aren’t explicit in the Honor Code any longer.

 

This article was submitted by an Affirmation community member. The opinions expressed are wholly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Affirmation, our leadership, or our staff. Affirmation welcomes the submission of articles by community members in accordance with our mission, which includes promoting the understanding, acceptance, and self-determination of individuals of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and our vision for Affirmation to be a refuge to land, heal, share, and be authentic.

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