Tag Archives: gay rights

Glenn Beck’s position on gay marriage may surprise you

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Glenn Beck is a regular recipient of ridicule (hooray for alliterations!) at this blog. But every now and then I like to highlight something redeeming about an ideological foe. A couple of weeks ago, I attempted to humanize the Westboro Baptists. And today, I’ll attempt to humanize Glenn Beck.

On Fox News last night, Bill O’Reilly asked Beck why he wasn’t more of a “culture warrior”—why he doesn’t discuss issues like gay marriage and abortion. Beck explained that “the country is burning down” and that social issues are basically a distraction. “Honestly, I think we have bigger fish to fry,” he said.

O’Reilly then followed up with this question: “Do you believe gay marriage is a threat to the country in any way?”

“A threat to the country? No, I don’t,” Beck responded. “Will the gays come and get us?” he asked mockingly. “I don’t think … the government actually has anything to do with [marriage] … that is a religious rite.”

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Friendly advice to the LDS Church about homosexuality

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The LDS Church gets a lot of grief over its stance on homosexuality. The criticisms are often well-deserved, but rarely constructive.

In the wake of several gay Mormon suicides, concerned Mormons are asking what their church could do to better minister to gay members. Here are what I hope to be a few constructive suggestions:

1. Work out a consistent theology regarding sex. Let me explain. If you’re going to oppose homosexuality on the grounds that it perverts the procreative end of sex, then treat homosexuality as you would other non-procreative acts—like masturbation, heterosexual sodomy, and contraceptive use. In other words, don’t treat homosexuality as a special, excommunicable sin.

(I of course don’t think homosexuality is a sin, but I cannot realistically expect the LDS Church to share my view any time soon).

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A tragedy close to home

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Utah leads the nation in male youth suicides, and there was a tragic reminder of that fact yesterday.

On July 19th, Todd Ransom, a young gay man from Salt Lake City, committed suicide. It is unclear why exactly Todd took his life, but his friends report that he faced disapproval from his family and struggled to reconcile his sexual orientation with his Mormon upbringing.

I never knew Todd, despite sharing several mutual friends with him. But his death has greatly saddened me and countless others. There will be candle-light vigil held in memory of Todd tonight at 9:00 PM outside the state capitol building.

In response to this and other recent gay Mormon suicides, my friend Isaac shared his own personal struggle as a gay Mormon on Facebook. With his permission, I’m posting the full note here.

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My second coming out

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(I realize that this is not a personal blog, but I hope you’ll humor this brief autobiographical detour).

It’s 5:00 AM, and I cannot fall asleep. Not when my mind is so awake.

I’m arrested by thoughts about my sexual orientation. If you’re a friend or frequent reader, you probably know that I’m bisexual. That fact isn’t usually at the fore of my consciousness. But lately, several experiences have made me more aware of my sexuality and my relationship to the LGBT community.

The first experience was watching 8: The Mormon Proposition. I saw it in theaters a couple of weeks ago, and again last night with my family (they enjoyed it, by the way). The second experience was a friend of mine recently coming out on Facebook. And the third experience was listening to this emotional podcast/interview where Nate Koch shares his struggles as a gay Mormon at BYU and in the mission field.

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LDS Church to be fined over Prop 8 contributions

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Some news of interest from the LA Times:

The state Fair Political Practices Commission is expected to fine the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for not properly reporting about $37,000 worth of contributions to pass California’s ban on same-sex marriages.

The commission will fine the Salt Lake City-based church $5,538 for failing to report the numerous contributions. The fine comes in response to a complaint filed in November 2008 by Fred Karger, a gay-rights activist and co-founder of Californians Against Hate, who accused the Mormon Church of failing to report the value of the work it did to support Proposition 8.

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