by ECS

I haven’t posted for awhile (have you missed me?), because I’ve been having fun this summer with my real-life friends and family instead of blogging. A few of the highlights have been trail running in Millcreek Canyon with Shelah, and chatting one afternoon with Mel (thanks again for the ride to the airport, Mel!).

Something else happened this summer. Yesterday, in fact. A federal judge ruled that Proposition 8 violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, and struck down Proposition 8’s provisions that deny same-sex couples the right to marry. As you know, the Mormon Church encouraged its members to donate millions of dollars and to spend countless hours to pass Proposition 8, and the Church responded to this news here.

The Mormon Church, however, did not respond when three LDS gay men committed suicide this summer. The big Mormon blogs in the bloggernacle didn’t either.

While there is some disagreement about the motivations for these suicides, there’s no question that the LDS Church fosters a community of intolerance and bigotry towards gays and lesbians. (Don’t make me start pulling out the G.A. quotes, because I totally will). The Church’s aggressive political activity supporting Proposition 8 is only one manifestation of this intolerance.

And while I’m pleased that Judge Walker struck down Proposition 8 yesterday, I’m saddened that the LDS Church continues to preach that gays and lesbians are defective and irretrievably broken human beings. Even though David Standley, Tim Tilley and Todd Ransom did not implicate the LDS Church in their suicides, it’s difficult to see how anyone could grow up in the LDS Church and miss the very clear message that if you’re gay, you’re uniquely broken and confused, and unacceptable to Heavenly Father. And if you’re already prone to depression and melancholy, you would no doubt internalize this message as indicative of your failure as a human being, and continue to suffer at the hands of your neighbors and family members – who, as co-religionists – should offer you comfort and solace instead of hurtful religious doctrine decrying homosexuals.

As we (some of us) celebrate the Proposition 8 ruling, we need to recognize that nothing much has changed. We need to work to make our religious community a welcoming place for people like David, Tim and Todd, or more people will die because of our active intolerance or our uncomfortable silence.