BYU stunt out as gay valedictorian speech | AP News

Contents:

• BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT AS GAY VIRAL NVOTN SPEECH
• BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT AS PROUD 'GAY SON OF GOD' GRADUATN SPEECH
• 1470: WHEN LDS APOSTLE JEFEY HOLLAND CALLS YOU OUT – GAY BYU VALEDICTORIAN MATT EASTON
• AUDIENCE RPONSE TO BYU VALEDICTORIAN COMG OUT AS GAY DURG COMMENCEMENT SPEECH WAS 'HEARTENG TO SEE,' STUNT SAYS
• BYU VALEDICTORIAN'S POWERFUL SPEECH GO VIRAL: "I AM PROUD TO BE A GAY SON OF GOD"
• EXCLUSIVE: FULL TERVIEW WH BYU VALEDICTORIAN WHO ME OUT GAY DURG GRADUATN SPEECH
• IN COMMENCEMENT SPEECH, BRIGHAM YOUNG GRADUATE ‘PROUD TO BE A GAY SON OF GOD’
• ‘IT IS A VICTORY FOR ME’: B.Y.U. VALEDICTORIAN ANNOUNC HE IS GAY
• GAY BYU STUNT OUT VALEDICTORIAN SPEECH
• BYU VALEDICTORIAN MATT EASTON OUT AS GAY DURG GRADUATN SPEECH
• BYU STUNT OUT AS GAY VALEDICTORIAN SPEECH
• BYU VALEDICTORIAN REVEALS HE IS GAY DURG MENCEMENT SPEECH
• BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT SPEECH, STUNNG SOME FAY. 'PROUD TO BE A GAY SON OF GOD'

BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT AS GAY VIRAL NVOTN SPEECH

BYU graduate Matt Easton me out as gay his nvotn speech on April 26, sayg he was “proud to be a gay son of God. ” The dience cheered after Easton said he stood before his fay, iends and graduatg class “proud to be a gay son of God. The day of his speech, Easton tweeted that was the first time he had publicly clared he is gay, though he had been slowly g out to close iends and fay members.

In particular, people are hurt and angry at the harsh words he had for a BYU stunt who 2019 ed his valedictory speech to e out as gay.

A Brigham Young Universy stunt quoted the Book of Mormon before he me out as a "gay son of God" durg his mencement dience cheered on Matt Easton, a polil science valedictorian, on Friday as he ma the announcement publicly for the first time at the school owned by The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats. "As such, I stand before the Lord, my fay, my graduatg class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God.

BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT AS PROUD 'GAY SON OF GOD' GRADUATN SPEECH

"Easton, who terned for Utah Senator Mt Romney's 2018 mpaign, had reportedly told close fay and iends but never announced publicly that he was gay.

1470: WHEN LDS APOSTLE JEFEY HOLLAND CALLS YOU OUT – GAY BYU VALEDICTORIAN MATT EASTON

While I don’t speak for everyone -- my own experience is all I n vouch for -- I hope that people know that we ARE here at BYU, and we’re not gog anywhere anytime soon, ” Easton wrote a Twter 'S GRADUATION SPEECH PULLED OVER CHRISTIAN CONTENTBYU officials approved his speech ahead of time and, acrdg to the school’s webse, BYU’s Honor Co don’t ban gay stunts, but prohibs “homosexual behavr, ” cludg all forms of physil timacy that “give exprsn to homosexual feelgs. In April of 2019 Brigham Young Universy valedictorian Matt Easton me out as a fahful gay Mormon durg his valedictorian addrs, which was pre-approved by the LDS Church.

AUDIENCE RPONSE TO BYU VALEDICTORIAN COMG OUT AS GAY DURG COMMENCEMENT SPEECH WAS 'HEARTENG TO SEE,' STUNT SAYS

I have a gay son who I have discsed so many thgs wh and Matt gave me even more sight to his plight.

Everyone knows that “I am gay” announcements are a middle fger to the church, and I fd very disrpectful to them.

BYU VALEDICTORIAN'S POWERFUL SPEECH GO VIRAL: "I AM PROUD TO BE A GAY SON OF GOD"

If you are gog to be gay, be gay, but dont go to their terrory and be disrpectful to them. Y, y I know they have done harm and people are pissed… but I still thk you dont need to announce you are gay a BYU speech. The valedictorian for the College of Fay, Home, and Social Scienc at BYU, who majored polil science, told the crowd, "I stand before my fay, iends and graduatg class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God.

In this personal say, Easton, 25, reflects on how his life has changed sce he gave that now-famo speech and how the world reacted to learng he is gay. This was pecially signifint bee I attend Brigham Young Universy, a nservative Mormon-owned llege known for s strict of nduct that forbids any form of romantic homosexual you everyone for your love and support today ❤️ I feel so so lucky to have had a chance to share some of my story wh so many people. I'm still relatively new to beg openly gay, but I've found that there is much more nuance volved, like a ttonwood seed preludg both summertime and hayfever season.

I thk that while g out don't magilly solve everythg, fely still has magic example, I still stggle wh the ternalized homophobia graed me sce birth. In the past year, so many people have told me, "I always knew you were gay! I'm still learng to rewire that thkg -- 's OK people thk I'm gay, bee I am -- and I'm OK that 's gog to take awhile to work through long after g out, I rennected wh one of my olr s.

EXCLUSIVE: FULL TERVIEW WH BYU VALEDICTORIAN WHO ME OUT GAY DURG GRADUATN SPEECH

He mentned I was the first openly gay person he's ever known. I uldn't help but image the brave dividuals 50 years prr buildg up the urage and fightg for my right to be openly gay. The first ser openly gay ntenr for print, Pete's example gave me urage to speak my tth, and was the experience of a lifetime to get to work on his on Team Pete gave me the unique chance to pursue my passn for polics while workg wh staff who not only believed Pete, but me as me, part of beg this muny means regnizg and unrstandg the discrimatn others face and workg toward equaly for all.

Shortly thereafter, Nathan Ivie, one of Utah unty's missners, beme the first openly gay Republin elected official Utah's history.

Earlier this year, BYU removed the clse s honor banng all forms of homosexual exprsn, only to then tell queer stunts that they are still required to abi by this (now unwrten) le. The honor do not prohib homosexual feelgs or attractn, so stunts n state their same-genr attractn, but homosexual behavr is "appropriate, " as stated on the universy's webse, and vlat the honor one BYU junr, who intifi as lbian and asked to rema anonymo for this story, Easton's speech was a movg moment not only bee of his admissn but also the dience's reactn.

IN COMMENCEMENT SPEECH, BRIGHAM YOUNG GRADUATE ‘PROUD TO BE A GAY SON OF GOD’

"As such, I stand before my fay, iends and graduatg class to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God, " Easton said. One Latter-day Sat's powerful valedictorian speech has been gag tractn as reach headl across the his speech, polil science major Matthew Easton stated, "I stand before my fay, iends, and graduatg class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God.

"While Easton shared wh the Washgton Post the gnive dissonance he feels as a gay Latter-day Sat, he ttified, "The more that I’ve unrstood my relatnship wh God, the more thentic I’ve been able to be and the more te to myself I’ve felt.

‘IT IS A VICTORY FOR ME’: B.Y.U. VALEDICTORIAN ANNOUNC HE IS GAY

By Kyle Harvey, Adam FieMon, April 29th 2019, 3:45 AM UTC24VIEW ALL PHOTOSMatt Easton, BYU valedictorian who me out gay his graduatn speech, speaks about his cisn to KUTV.

A BYU Valedictorian Came Out As Gay In His Graduatn Speech Yterday.

GAY BYU STUNT OUT VALEDICTORIAN SPEECH

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. ” But the proclamatn served a sendary legal role as the church planned s offensive agast gay rights.

BYU VALEDICTORIAN MATT EASTON OUT AS GAY DURG GRADUATN SPEECH

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.

BYU STUNT OUT AS GAY VALEDICTORIAN SPEECH

Sex, or “procreative powers, ” are only for married men and their wiv (no gay sex unr any circumstanc). 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.

BYU VALEDICTORIAN REVEALS HE IS GAY DURG MENCEMENT SPEECH

He sgled out one openly gay BYU alum particular, former valedictorian Matt Easton, who me out as gay his 2019 mencement speech.

In simply intifyg himself as gay the urse of the speech, Holland alleged, Easton had “manered” the 2019 ceremony. 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.

At BYU, some of the celt technologi have been ed to attempt to end the gay surge. 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.

BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT SPEECH, STUNNG SOME FAY. 'PROUD TO BE A GAY SON OF GOD'

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. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAt a universy where s honor explicly prohibs “homosexual behavr, ” Matt Easton’s very public g out was not whout risk.

Valedictorian Announc He Is GayDurg his mencement speech, Matt Easton, a Brigham Young Universy valedictorian, told the dience that he was “proud to be a gay son of God. ” The universy’s honor prohibs “homosexual behavr.