I saw 8: The Mormon Proposition tonight. It was infuriating. Mostly it was just made me sad.
Gay marriage and gay rights have always mattered to me, even when I was still a Molly Mormon. (Though one could argue that a true Molly Mormon would never be caught dead at a Gay/Straight Alliance meeting, which is where I could be found every Tuesday at lunch.) I argued for gay marriage in high school government class. I got into ugly arguments with my very Mormon sister. I’m not going to pretend like I’m some sort of gay rights crusader, but I’ve always had the radical idea that gay people are people, and I’ve tried to be fairly vocal about it.
This led to some issues with my church leadership, BYU roommates, relatives, Mormon friends, etc. It’s hard to be vocal about what you believe is right when disagreeing with church leadership is a sin. But in my own very small way, I tried.
Proposition 8 drew dividing lines in my family, as it did many families. It hurt me to see my sister and my cousins, people I respect and love, spend so much time, money and effort to promote something that I felt was morally repugnant. It still hurts me that they supported Prop 8, and I’m sure they’re disappointed in me for opposing it, and for continuing to be vocal about my support of gay rights. (I said “¡Viva Argentina!” in my Facebook status this week. Aren’t I brave?)
I guess I feel defeated. The victory in Argentina is significant, but I want a victory here, in my country. I want my country to be what it was meant to be, a place with liberty and justice for all. Right now, it’s not, and it kills me that my family and friends were part of that, instrumental in making that happen.
It never ceases to amaze me that a church that’s supposed to be about eternal families is continually dividing and destroying families, Mormon and otherwise.
haha
