Gay Rights and the Mormon Church - BYU Studi

Contents:

• CALIFORNIA VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO REAFFIRM GAY MARRIAGE PROTECTNS ON 2024 BALLOT
• WILL CALIFORNIA PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE S NSTUTN?
• GAY RIGHTS AND THE MORMON CHURCH
• CG PROP. 22, GOV. REJECTS GAY MARRIAGE BILL
• PROPOSN 8: WHO GAVE THE GAY MARRIAGE BATTLE?

CALIFORNIA VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO REAFFIRM GAY MARRIAGE PROTECTNS ON 2024 BALLOT

Californians will vote on a proposal to amend the state Constutn on the 2024 ballot to reaffirm gay marriage rights — a ut move that amid natnal anxiety after recent lgs by the nservative-leang U. Although there is no current threat to the legaly of gay marriage, and Print Bin signed a bill safeguardg last year, the Democratic-domant state Legislature is seekg to remove language om California’s Constutn that still f marriage as between a man and outdated state fn has been emed unenforceable and unnstutnal thanks to feral law, but LGBTQ advocy groups are askg voters to repeal and amend the California Constutn to stead explicly state that marriage is “a fundamental right.

Gav Newsom was out of state, Senate lear Toni Atks (D-San Diego) signed bills to law on his behalf as the first out gay actg ernor. The measure put gay and lbian marriag on hold the state, but a feral appeals urt 2010 emed Proposn 8 unnstutnal. The se ma s way to the US Supreme Court, which dismissed an appeal 2013 over same-sex marriage on jurisdictnal grounds, lg private parti did not have standg to fend California’s voter-approved ballot measure barrg gay and lbian upl om state-sanctned wedlock.

Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a subsequent legislative attempt to legalize gay marriage. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage natnally two years later. There’s no ditn, however, that the majory of jtic have much appete to do the same on gay marriage.

WILL CALIFORNIA PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE S NSTUTN?

In January, the Public Policy Instute of California found that a whoppg 75% of likely voters support a policy allowg gay and lbians upl to marry. Stt Wiener (D-San Francis), an out gay man and one of 11 primary -sponsors om both chambers, said durg bate on the proposed amendment. The measure put gay and lbian marriag on hold the state, but a feral appeals urt 2010 emed Proposn 8 se ma s way to the US Supreme Court, which dismissed an appeal 2013 over same-sex marriage on jurisdictnal grounds, lg private parti did not have standg to fend California’s voter-approved ballot measure barrg gay and lbian upl om state-sanctned lg cleared the way for same-sex marriag the state to rume and Proposn 8 has remaed on the books but unenforced.

When valedictorian Matt Easton spoke to his graduatg classmat the College of Fay, Home, and Social Scienc at Brigham Young Universy April 2019 and pronounced himself “proud to be a gay son of God, ”1 was notable—not for the ank self-intifitn, nor bee llege admistratn had preapproved the speech. Prce’s new book, Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intend Actns, Untend Consequenc, arriv at a moment when acceptance of those who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, asexual, or tersex has reached a tippg pot among members of The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats.

Jana Ris recently reported on Latter-day Sat attus toward homosexualy, based on data om the Next Mormon Survey (NMS) and om the Pew Rearch Center that was published her book The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changg the LDS Church.

GAY RIGHTS AND THE MORMON CHURCH

In that book, she explas, “The NMS asked whether rponnts believed ‘homosexualy should be accepted by society’ or ‘homosexualy should be disuraged by society. Overall, Mormons’ acceptance of homosexualy grew om 24% 2007 to 36% 2014 and 48% the 2016 NMS.

This movement is driven large part by Millennials, more than half of whom say homosexualy should be accepted. Holland noted that Generatn Z dividuals (currently aged seven to twenty-two) “tend to support gay marriage and transgenr rights as part of everyday life. Nurture views of homosexualy’s atn, as well as the more recent foc on blogy and emergg studi geics and epigeics.

CG PROP. 22, GOV. REJECTS GAY MARRIAGE BILL

4 Those who anticipate that Gay Rights and the Mormon Church would brg a siar approach to this topic will be disappoted: as Prce not, “Although I have attempted to engage voic om all sis of the issu treated this book, I have been trated by two groups”—the first beg those who were active supporters of California’s Proposn 8, a ballot measure to elimate the right of same-sex upl to marry. Prce provis a historil ntext for the gay liberatn movement, primarily the Uned Stat, and the Church’s actns and reactns.

Gay Rights and the Mormon Church also follows the trajectory of Church teachgs throughout the s, surveyg addrs the 1950s by Print J. Kimball’s chapter on homosexualy, tled “Crime agast Nature, ” his 1969 book, The Miracle of Fivens (31–37); Church pamphlets (114–18); and a 2006 terview wh Elr Dall H. 6 In the s, the Church’s posn on the e of beg homosexual evolved om a choice that n be cured through diligent work and sufficient fah to neher a choice nor a s, though actg on such feelgs is both.

Prce also vers the lnch 2012 of the Church’s webse, which was remarkable several aspects: first, for g the word “gay” as an inty marker, which had been strongly opposed by Church lears the past; send, for publicly puttg wrg the ncept that homosexualy was not a choice, though dividuals reta the abily to choose their rponse to such attractns; third, for clarg that homosexualy is not a disease; fourth, for assertg that the atn of same-sex attractn is not known; and, fally, for statg that the Church no longer advis marriage to someone of the oppose sex as a helpful step for homosexual members (216–17). 7 For rears, the book will provi greater pth of unrstandg of var events, although some discsns ( particular the November 2015 policy that labeled same-sex marriage as apostasy and ferred the eligibily of the children of gay unns to receive ordanc) suffer om a lack of primary sourc; however, s most helpful ntributn, I feel, is givg voice to groups that have heretofore largely been silent—relatg the stori of lbians and transgenr and tersex dividuals a manner that nveys the pth of their stggle to rema active the Church or to pe wh the circumstanc that have forced them out of , provg aga the power of dividual stori shared wh ndor and thenticy to change hearts and mds ways that polil or theologil history likely nnot.

PROPOSN 8: WHO GAVE THE GAY MARRIAGE BATTLE?

”The statement also said Schwarzenegger “believ that gay upl are entled to full protectn unr the law and should not be discrimated agast. Massachetts allows same-sex marriag, but they rived om urt orr, not the legislative approval seen Sacramento on addn to the likely urt lg on same-sex marriage, the issue may be head back to the ballot: Opponents of gay marriage have been llectg signatur to qualify measur for the June 2006 vote that would ban same-sex marriage.

Opposn uld alienate gay and lbian activists and key Democratic issue has been potent.