In the years 2010 and 2011 when I was an old student at Dixie State College, now DSU, I was writing for the Dixie Sun.
The Suns most awesome Life Styles Editing Chief at the time, McKoye Mecham wrote the following article on her blog site on January 13, 2014. I so miss those Sunday summer nights In St. George Utah when her, myself and many other Dixie Sun writers and photographers gathered together to play volley ball weekly all summer long, those were indeed good times.
Because of the recent horrific hate crime and mass murder in Orlando Florida on the 12th, I feel the article "Gay," by Mecham illustrates how unwarranted hatred is extremely bad for everyone involved.
Did you know the word "gay" means carefree and/or happy? Does it still have that meaning? I'm not so sure.
I'm a Mormon and I support same-sex marriage being legalized in every single state in the U.S.
GASP! I can hear it now.
"Wow, that McKoye is turning into a liberal! She's leaving the church! She actually LIKES gay people! Doesn't she know they are full of evil and they think LDS people are the worst? Doesn't she know she's being a bad Mormon? She's giving in to the world!"
Oh dear. How could I sink so low?
I apologize for the sarcasm.
Let me make this VERY clear. I love my faith and I love my country. I love that we live in place where we can pretty much do whatever we want. I do, however, hate how we fight so fiercely against people who don't believe in our faith. Why not let them be? Let them have the rights they are given in the United States Constitution. Let them be happy. Let God be the judge when the time comes. Why not focus our energy into helping others? Being kind? Being understanding? If someone is interested in our message, let's share it! But let's not force it.
Did you know that Utah leads the nation in suicides among men aged 15 to 24? (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/635201873/Deadly-taboo-Youth-suicide-an-epidemic-that-many-in-Utah-prefer-to-ignore.html?pg=all) I wonder how many of those young men would rather be dead than be alive and gay. That absolutely breaks my heart. Does that make you sad? I hope so.
The Church came out with this website (http://www.mormonsandgays.org/ ) acknowledging that people are born homosexual. I thought it was pretty cool to admit that. God made them that way, so I know he knows what he's dealing with. He can be the judge, not us.
And for those of you out there who are like, "I won't follow the world's trends! That's exactly what you're doing! You're a bad Mormon!!!!" Well, guess what? The church has followed world trends before. And by world trends, I mean giving in when things start to change. Do you remember black people were once discriminated against in the church? But after the Civil Rights Movement, things changed. The Church came out with a statement (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/race-church) recently admitting to a racist past. Church leaders also condemned marriage between people of different races. Guess what? That's OK now!
I believe it was President Dieter F. Uchtdorf who acknowledged that the church has made mistakes. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/a-top-mormon-leader-acknowledges-the-church-made-mistakes.html?_r=1I) love him for that. No sugar coating, just pure honesty.
I believe being inquisitive, thoughtful, open minded and non-judgmental has made my faith grow stronger. I will raise my family to ask questions, to seek knowledge, to be kind to others and to listen carefully to our leaders.
I'm not saying the church should change their stance on marriage or the importance of families. I'm saying that they should stop fighting so hard against it and respect others who don't believe in the LDS faith by letting the laws of the land stand. Just because other people are gay doesn't make me want to be gay. It's fine. Let them be grown ups and make their own decisions.
I know you may think I'm a terrible person for posting such a post, but I felt inspired to defend my stance.
I love my LGBT friends and family. They deserve to be treated as equals.
Be gay. Be happy.
