All weekend the internets swooned over these lesbian, gay, and bi students at Brigham Young University making an It Gets Better video. Although it may be useful as a suicide prevention PSA and helpful in bringing incremental change to some of their families and friends, the students are willingly or unwillingly being used as part of the Mormon PR blitz promoting the false claim that LDS isn't homophobic. The attractive, articulate gay kids play up the university's "tolerance" but they forget to mention they're not allowed to have sex. Ever. Mandatory lifelong celibacy is not acceptance. Nor is excommunication. Don't attack me for calling them church apologists. One of these boys complains to the Salt Lake Tribune, "I feel like there’s been a very negative light cast on Mormons when it comes to LGBT issues."
After their success stripping gay couples of marriage equality in California and Maine, now some Mormons are forming a coalition of several faiths trying to repeal Maryland's new gay marriage law. This week the Blade reports on their process:
“We need to collect approximately 200,000 signatures by the end of May,” the email states. “We are looking for people to gather signatures within the LDS community.”
I respect the BYU students' youthful optimism, their efforts to reach suicidal teens, and their desire to bring change to a bigoted instution. The time to trumpet LDS tolerance is after they've reversed the church's official position, not now. Here's a Los Angeles Times photo of some Mormons and others who had worked to undo marriage equality, reacting to Prop 8's victory.
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