Mormons to March in Gay Pride Events
MORMONS FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Sara Long 503.757.3250 sara@mormonsformarriageequality.org
MORMONS TO MARCH IN GAY PRIDE EVENTS
SALT LAKE CITY (May 28, 2012) – Throughout June and the rest of the summer, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be marching in Pride parades spanning the country, including the nation’s two largest Pride celebrations, San Francisco Pride and New York City Pride.
Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, Mormons for Marriage Equality, and Mormons Building Bridges are preparing to march 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 kick 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 has asked that the LDS contingent march at the front of the parade. Under the direction of contingent organizer Erika Munson, members of the group Mormons Building Bridges plan to carry signs expressing love and support for LGBT neighbors, friends, and family, while not advocating for or against marriage equality.
On June 9, marchers will attend Washington D.C.’s Capital Pride 2012. On June 17, marchers will attend Pride Northwest in Portland, Oregon. On June 23, marchers plan to attend Cleveland Pride. On June 24, Mormons will march in Seattle, San Francisco, and in New York City, the country’s oldest march. Marchers are planning for later events, such as Mid-South Pride in Memphis on October 6, 2012. Mormon contingents will also hold supportive signs along parade routes in cities where they are not registered to march.
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 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
