Spencer W. Clark, executive director of Mormons for Equality, has been invited to join clergy and other religious leaders at an interfaith prayer service to be held this Tuesday, March 26. On that day the U.S. Supreme Court will begin to hear oral arguments related to Prop 8 and DOMA.

The service is one of many pro-marriage events held this week in Washington DC and around the country.

“I’m happy to be representing Mormons who support marriage equality on the program, and I’ve been asked to read John 13:34-35 during the service,” says Spencer. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity that Mormons will have in the coming days to speak out and join vigils and rallies across the country as we hope and pray for fairness and equality to be extended to more families.”

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

The prayer service starts at 7:15 am at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation. The event has standing-room-only tickets left, so interested parties should request their tickets as soon as possible. A United for Marriage rally starts on the steps of the Supreme Court at 8:30 am. Participants are invited to wear red.

Tuesday 3/26

A Prayer for Love & Justice – 7:15 AM
Lutheran Church of the Reformation
E. Capital St. SE & 2nd St. NE
Tickets at: EqualityPrayerService.EventBrite.com

United for Marriage Rally
8:30 AM
Steps of the Supreme Court
1st Street NE

“Over the last several years we have been seeing more and more Mormons from across the political spectrum come out in support of marriage equality,” said Spencer W. Clark, Executive Director of Mormons for Marriage Equality. “I am thrilled that Gov. Huntsman has taken this stand and hope that it will prompt other Mormons to join us in building stronger families by ensuring that same-sex couples and their children have access to the same protection and benefits under the law that my family has. As Huntsman stated, it’s the right thing to do and appeals to the American values of freedom of conscience and civil equality.”

*Post updated at 3:38pm to correct spelling of “Jon”

 Many Mormons Support Legislation to Legalize Civil Same-Sex Marriage in Illinois
“…civil marriage equality is the true pro-family position.”

Mormons from Illinois join with others across the country in calling for the state legislature to pass HB 5170 which would make Illinois the 10th state to enact civil marriage equality for LGBT couples and their families.

“This balanced legislation not only addresses inequality for our gay friends, family, and neighbors but it protects and strengthens religious freedom,” said Kevin Kloosterman. “As a devout Mormon, and former bishop in Illinois, I am proud to endorse this and I stand with over 260 religious leaders also endorsing this. This grand compromise shows that Equality and Religious Freedom are not mutually exclusive.”

Kevin Kloosterman

Over the past year, Mormons from across the US and abroad have come together to support LGBT individuals and families and to advocate for civil marriage equality. Hundreds of active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints marched in pride parades in 18 cities in 2012 and worked to help ensure victory for marriage equality measures in four states last November.

LDS Church officials have on several occasions repeated that members should feel free to follow their conscience in forming opinions on this and other public policy issues, and in 2010, language that had encouraged opposition to civil marriage equality was removed from the Church’s official policy handbook. Reflecting this policy change, the Church was silent on all the state-level marriage initiatives in 2012, and Latter-day Saints could be found working and voting on both sides as they saw fit.

We thus find it regrettable that a regional LDS Church leader in Illinois has chosen to sign on to a letter that continues to propagate vague and false claims about the impact that same-sex marriage has on families, churches and society.

“We now have nearly eight years of experience with civil marriage equality in this country and our families and churches are as strong and free as ever,” said Spencer W. Clark, Executive Director of Mormons for Marriage Equality (M4ME) and an active Latter-day Saint. “It’s time to admit that the predictions of dire harm are baseless and that the primary impact of civil marriage equality is that hundreds of thousands of families are now stronger. As Mormons, we value family, and that’s why increasing numbers of Latter-day Saints are coming around to the realization that civil marriage equality is the true pro-family position.”

Spencer W. Clark

Opponents of same-sex marriage often claim to be working in the interests of families and children. Yet they ignore the 270,000 children in this country who are already being raised by same-sex parents, and who are harmed when their families are denied equal protections and benefits under the law. Marriage benefits couples and their children, whether of same or opposite sex. We cannot ignore and discriminate against those whose families may look slightly different from our own.

Spencer W. Clark continued, “As a husband and father, I know how much marriage benefits my family. If my wife and I did not have access to the legal and societal benefits of marriage, my family would suffer greatly. Christ taught us to love and treat others as we would want to be treated. Measures to treat families equally are an expression of Christ-like love.” Randall Thacker, President of Affirmation – Gay & Lesbian Mormons states, “The commitment of two individuals to care for and provide for each other throughout this life is very compatible with the fundamental teachings of Christ and Mormonism.”

Randall Thacker

We encourage Latter-Day Saints and other Illinois residents to contact their legislators and ask them to support this important piece of legislation.

“It is striking to think that it was four years ago this month that the LDS Church issued a letter to be read to California congregations urging members to full engagement in support of Proposition 8, setting into motion a headline-grabbing Mormon campaign to end civil same-sex marriage in California.”

photo credit: Raed Shomali Photography

Too often, gay Mormons and their families have felt that they had to choose between their loyalty to each other and to their Church. This website re-emphasizes that the first great commandment to love God is not mutually exclusive of the second great commandment to love your neighbor. We simply can’t claim to love God, and not love the gay children, parents or neighbors that he has placed in our lives.

On this website we witness something that Church leaders rarely do: admit that we’ve done things wrong in the past. This is old news to gay children who were thrown out of their homes, spouses whose mixed-orientation marriages ended in disaster, or Mormons who felt so hopeless and persecuted that they were driven to suicide. In light of this, the clear admission that things need to change is particularly welcome, if long overdue.

I was named for Spencer W. Kimball, the LDS Church President when I was born, who is responsible for many of the erroneous and harmful statements about gays that helped fuel these tragedies. As such, I feel all the more called to help bring about this change and am inspired to see Church leaders reminding Mormons to act like true disciples of Christ, since we often haven’t in the past.

Conspicuously absent from the site is the repetition of any past directives that Latter-Day Saints should oppose civil marriage rights for gay families. This is in keeping with the changes made to official Church policies in 2010 that removed such direction and represents a positive development for families. Without formal LDS opposition, but rather grassroots support from many Mormons who donated their time and money, voters in four states supported civil marriage equality for the first time. With understanding of the value of all families, we’re proud to have helped promote these positive changes in our society.

It is clear that Church leaders have heard the voices and stories of so many Mormons who have been working to make things better for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and I believe this will help open the door to even greater progress in the future.

Spencer W. Clark
Executive Director
Mormons for Marriage Equality

MORMONS MARCHING IN INTERNATIONAL GAY PRIDE EVENTS

SEATTLE, WA (June 22, 2012) – Throughout June and the rest of the summer, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be marching for LGBT rights in Pride parades throughout the country, including Seattle Pride on June 24.

Grassroots LDS movements including Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, Mormons for Marriage Equality, and Mormon Allies will march in Pride parades in at least eight cities this weekend, including Santiago, Chile, the first international march. The overall number of LDS groups marching continues to increase as Mormons become aware of the movement and request to head up a contingent at their local Pride celebration.

The events kicked off on June 3 in Salt Lake City, where an expected group of 100 marchers who gathered to show love and support swelled to more than 300, making international news. On June 9 at Capital Pride in Washington, D.C., an expected group of two dozen led to nearly 70 marching under the Mormons for Marriage Equality banner. On June 16 and 17, Mormons marched for equal rights and to show love and support in Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho. This weekend June 23-24, Mormons will march in Pride in San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Houston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Santiago, Chile.

At the request of CNN, Mormons have submitted videos of their marches and explaining their reasons for marching under the tag mormon_pride.

A study published last year in the wake of publicity about harassment, bullying, and violence against LGBT people revealed that in most Oregon counties, 1 in 4 LGBT teens has attempted suicide, a result expected to hold at the national level. LGBT youth who have been rejected by their families after coming out comprise more than half of the homeless youth population nationwide.

The area’s Mormons for Marriage Equality will be working with Washington United for Marriage to pass this November’s ballot measure for equal marriage rights in Washington State.

On the web at http://www.mormonpride.org and http://www.mormonsformarriageequality.org

More from CNN, Joanna Brooks at Religion Dispatches, and Sarah Mirk at the Portland Mercury.

MORMONS MARCH IN GAY PRIDE EVENTS

PORTLAND, OR (June 13, 2012) – Throughout June and the rest of the summer, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be marching for LGBT rights in Pride parades throughout the country, including Portland’s Pride Northwest on June 17.

“We want to proclaim to our LGBT brothers and sisters that Mitt Romney’s stance on this issue does not reflect the views of all Mormons,” said Sara Long, spokesperson for Mormons for Marriage Equality and a marcher in Sunday’s parade. “His position is diametrically opposed to ours.” Romney supports a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and is opposed to civil unions with privileges similar to marriage. By contrast, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the highest-ranking Mormon in the United States government, has declared his support for marriage equality.

Grassroots LDS movements including Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, Mormons for Marriage Equality, and Mormon Allies will march in Pride parades in at least 14 cities, including Santiago, Chile, the first international march. That number continues to increase as Mormons become aware of the movement and request to head up a contingent at their local Pride celebration.

The events kicked off on June 3 in Salt Lake City, where an expected group of 100 marchers who gathered to show love and support swelled to more than 300, making international news. On June 9 at Capital Pride in Washington, D.C., an expected group of two dozen led to nearly 70 marching under the Mormons for Marriage Equality banner. This weekend, Mormons will march in Pride in Portland, Oregon; Boise, Idaho; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, a state set to vote on a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage this November.

“I am marching for equality because I want to send the message to Mormon youth who may see this that there are people from their flock who stand by them, care about them, and support them for who they are,” says Mark Wade of Portland, who plans to march and carry signage supportive of equal rights. “Love every family! And everyone! That’s what Jesus taught.”

Southwest Portland member Annalicia Whittaker wants people to know that “I am here to say that every person is loved and should feel loved – regardless of our individual differences.” Suzi Fei is dedicating her march to “my two young half-sisters, Charlotte and Olivia, who have two moms. I think their family should have the same legal rights and protections as other families.” Marni Zollinger of Gresham is marching with her family of six and backs up that view: “There are no children of a lesser God.”

A study published last year in the wake of publicity about harassment, bullying, and violence against LGBT people revealed that in most Oregon counties, 1 in 4 LGBT teens has attempted suicide, a result expected to hold at the national level. LGBT youth who have been rejected by their families after coming out comprise more than half of the homeless youth population nationwide.

The area’s Mormons for Marriage Equality will be helping both to pass this November’s ballot measure for equal marriage rights in Washington State, as well as working to overturn the 2004 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Oregon.

On the web at http://www.mormonpride.org and http://www.mormonsformarriageequality.org

Contact: Sara Long          503.757.3250          sara@mormonsformarriageequality.org

MORMONS MARCHING IN GAY PRIDE EVENTS

WASHINGTON, DC (June 5, 2012) – Throughout June and the rest of the summer, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are marching in Pride parades spanning the country, including Capital Pride in Washington, DC this weekend.

Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, Mormons for Marriage Equality, and Mormons Building Bridges are marching in Pride parades in at least nine cities from coast to coast, and that number is expected to increase, according to Sara Long, executive director of Mormons for Marriage Equality.

The events kicked off on June 3 in Salt Lake City, where this year’s Grand Marshal of the Utah Pride Parade, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black asked the LDS contingent to march at the front of the parade. Under the direction of contingent organizer Erika Munson, members of the group Mormons Building Bridges carried signs expressing love and support for LGBT neighbors, friends, and family, while not advocating for or against marriage equality. An expected group of one hundred surprised everyone by being between three hundred and five hundred.

On June 9, Mormons advocating for full marriage equality will march in Washington D.C.’s Capital Pride 2012. The numbers of those expected to march in DC has been growing each day as more people become aware of the march and are inspired by those who marched in Salt Lake City last weekend. Crystal Scott Croshaw, a straight active Mormon in Washington, DC explains why she is marching: “ After becoming close in the last several years to many members of the LGTBQ community, I feel extremely protective of my new friends, and I am proud to stand beside them and be proud of who they are. I will march with them, shoulder-to-shoulder until they have the civil rights they deserve. Great hurt has happened in this country with the issues of marriage, particularly, and I am here to tell you that there are strong Mormons who are 100% supportive of members of the LGTBQ community. I am your sister. I am your friend. I am proud of you.”

Mormons will also march in pride celebrations in Boise, Portland, Cleveland, Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego and Memphis.

Josiah Lambert, a DJ for Sirius XM and a straight active Mormon from Silver Spring, MD says he supports marriage equality because “I believe in the supreme importance of family bonds. Reverence for committed family relationships is a fundamental part of every Mormon’s upbringing. It’s in our blood. In a matter so fundamental for a healthy society, discriminating over sexual orientation is simply not right.”

The issue of equal rights will be fraught in the coming months. Four states – Maryland, Maine, Washington, and Minnesota – are set to have marriage equality measures on the ballot this November. Incumbent President Obama and Vice-President Biden have spoken in favor of marriage equality, while opposing candidate Mitt Romney has spoken against it.

“We are saddened that Mormon Candidate Romney would come down on the side against freedom, against equality, and would support permanently conferring second-class status upon a significant minority of our nation’s citizens,” said Sara Long. “Massachusetts has led the way in showing our nation how marriage is strengthened, not weakened, by all citizens having equal rights to say ‘I do.’”

On the web at http://www.mormonpride.org and http://www.mormonsformarriageequality.org

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