Queer Gnosis

Wow. Talk about life in Utah being full of surprises. I was not expecting the endorsement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Salt Lake City’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance – but damn if it wasn’t cool. And it’s important to give thanks where thanks is due. So thank you Mormons for sharing the conviction that it is wrong to discriminate against your fellow Utahns based on sexual orientation and gender identity!

And thank you Mayor Becker and the City Council for this brave step. It will serve as a template for other municipalities, and possible statewide legislation.

I’d also like to recognize the incredible efforts of Equality Utah and The Pride Center. They have done phenomenal work over the past year – both publicly and privately.  This victory belongs to all of us working on the frontlines. It takes many voices to create change. The protests, The Common Grounds Initiative, the letters to the editor, the petitions, the kiss-ins, The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon, Lance Black’s Oscar speech, Cleve Jones at Utah Pride, our gay legislators, PFLAG, LDS Apology, Affirmation, and all of the fantastic media coverage from the AP, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Deseret News, The Nation, Huffington Post and so many more – all of these factors put the Church under tremendous pressure.

And make no mistake – despite the words of Councilmember J.T. Martin, the Church most definitely “blinked”.

This is how activism works. Pressure is applied from all sides. The angry crowd marching around the temple is just as essential as the moderate, measured gay leader in private meetings with legislators and the Church. Some people are already calling this a “PR tactic” on the Church’s part. You bet it was! The Church is absolutely trying to side-step the onslaught of horrible press they have received. Others bemoan the fact that a religious institution should ever have power over our civil liberties. And they too are absolutely correct. The Church has perpetrated great abuses against the LGBT community that they need to be held accountable for. We need truth and reconciliation and the Church needs to come clean. Their bigotry has injured thousands, torn families and cost lives. Michael Otterman talks about the potential “violence” against marriage – well, they need to acknowledge the violence they have perpetrated against the gay community.

But, let’s put aside our angry eye for a second and see the possibilities that their endorsement provides future activism in Utah.

We are now in a position to approach the Utah Legislature and advocate for statewide protections WITH the endorsement of the state’s most powerful political juggernaut. I can’t overstate how significant this is. Other municipalities will feel emboldened and will step forward to create similar protections. New doors are opening that we all had thought were forever closed. We have new opportunities to engage in progressive politics. Amy Ray called it, “I feel a crack in the skin of the majority”.

And maybe real change is possible. Maybe Mormons are starting to awaken to their own queerness.

We in the LGBT Community recognize and remember the historical persecution experienced by members of the Mormon faith. We know the stories of fear and intolerance that drove members of the Church west. Prophets were mobbed and murdered, homes and property were burned and stolen, lives were uprooted and lost. Many members of the LGBT Community are intimate with these stories because so many of us were also born into the Mormon faith.

The Church’s history is our history.

The LGBT and Mormon communities have so much in common. We understand bigotry and resentment that comes from being a queer and peculiar people. We too have experienced the violence of intolerance. We both share a deep understanding of the pain that comes from being socially and politically ostracized.

There are still many hurt feelings that have ensued since the passage of Proposition 8. Rhetoric on both sides has escalated to the point where we have often lost sight of our shared humanity.

When we look around the world we see that the human family faces tremendous challenges. Poverty, war, climate change, racial and class divisions impact all of our lives. Imagine the positive work that we could do in our community if we worked together. I can now see a day when The Latter-day Saints work in friendship with the LGBT community to address the greatest challenges facing our state, our nation and our world.

We recognize that we have many differences and disagreements. We understand that in many areas we may never see eye to eye. But if you will permit me to go all Obama on your ass, our similarities are greater than our differences, our hopes are greater than our fears and that forgiveness and friendship can replace the anger and distrust that has thus far divided us.

I’m optimistic. Last night was a fantastic first step. So now let’s keep the pressure on. Let’s continue to march, write letters, write plays, make documentaries, lobby the Legislature, support Equality Utah and the Pride Center – continue to be angry, impatient, and intolerant of the status quo. Let’s keep working on the Federal level to ensure full civil equality exists for LGBT Americans in all 50 states.

I’m ready to roll!