Fwd: Advocate

Note: the Advocate is the gay newsweekly that has printed gay news for
over 30 years and currently includes a cover story about gay Mormons
vs. the Mormon church.

From AffirmationDCNews:

"Up Against the Mormon Church -- One of the most powerful forces
against gay equality confronts its most powerful adversaries: gay and
lesbian Mormons."

And that's only the cover!

The long anticipated article in The Advocate is now available and is
the cover story of the April 12 issue. (We will have the issue
available at the AffirmationDC chapter meeting Sunday afternoon at
4:00 at Larry and Spencer's home in Alexandria.)

The cover features two Mormon lads in missionary attire (with
scriptures), in front of the Salt Lake Temple.

Flipping over to the contents page, we learn that Stephen and Aaron
met on their mission, are now partners, and there is strong
photographic suggestion that they are, in fact, gay.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most
powerful forces working to defeat gay equality, and openly gay and
lesbian Mormons are the most powerful force working to change their
church... What has become clear to tens of thousands of GLBT Mormons
is the harsh fact that although they may have left the church, the
church won't stop meddling in their lives.

While the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention
have grabbed the most headlines with calls to "save traditional
marriage," the Mormon Church has quietly become one of the most
powerful forces opposing any changes that offer gays and lesbians
equality under the law. Not only does it lean heavily on its members
to deny their homosexuality and to vote for candidates and ballot
measures opposing equality, it's thought to be spending millions of
dollars to support antigay initiatives and politicians... The LDS
Church is a formidable opponent of gay equality. It's also quite a
force to reckon with if you're young and queer and growing up
Mormon."

The article goes on with experiences of GLBT Mormons, a fairly
accurate history of the LDS Church, quotes from a number of prominent
national leaders including Olin Thomas, Executive Director of
Affirmation, Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, and Gordon
Hinckley, President of the LDS Church, and an analysis of the LDS
Church's political and leadership workings. A side bar story to the
eight page article is entitled "The Boy Scouts' Mormon Masters." And
the Advocate/Subaru on-line poll question for the next two weeks is
"Are the gay and lesbian Mormons who are fighting the church's
homophobia having an impact?"

The article is very well written, very balanced and professional, and
very strong. It was written by Lisa Neff, who is the Managing Editor
of the Chicago Free Press, and was prepared with the assistance of a
number of Affirmation members and others. (Those who have been around
for a while will recognize many of the names and faces.)

(Note: one of the founders of the Advocate was an ex-Mormon and former
missionary back in the 1960's and 1970's, Robert I. McQueen
(1942-1989), who called himself the RIM Queen, and Pat Califia, the
famous sex advisor column editor, was Mormon and is called by some the
most popular gay columnist...)