As a youth living in Davis County, Austin Schutz says he was profiled and bullied after his classmates figured out that he was gay.
Now as an adult, he worries how young members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community will fare under an LDS Church policy that generally bars children whose primary residence is with a same-sex couple from having a "naming blessing" or being baptized into the faith until they are age 18 and are willing to disavow "the practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage."
Schutz — who grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — was one of the speakers at the Utah Rally for Love, Equality, Family and Acceptance, an event designed to encourage change and promote acceptance.
"To be profiled was hurtful," Schutz said Saturday. "I am afraid of the message that this policy sends. It encourages targeting among youth."
Several hundred people attended the rally, which was held at the state Capitol in conjunction with the Utah Faith Fair. Demonstrators carried signs that said, among other things, "Jesus Had 2 Dads and He Turned Out Fine!" and "Don't Erase the Children."
In clarifying its policy on children of same-sex couples, the LDS Church classified Mormons in same-sex marriages as "apostates."
Lauralee Kohl, an active Mormon, told the crowd that members of the LGBT community are not alone.
"There are many of us in the church who love you and support you," she said.
And Donna Kelly — who had been active in the LDS Church but said she is no longer allowed to hold a calling because of her support of daughter Kate Kelly's push for women's ordination — said that "shunning is not a family value."
"My family is not a counterfeit family," Kelly said. "Your families are not counterfeit families. It is our duty as good and decent people to reject shunning, to reject hate."
http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/3 ... l-call-for
