'I'm gay': Mormon Republican lawmaker in Utah comes out

[UpInArms]

Source: NBC News

Republican lawmaker Nathan Ivie says it took him more than 20 years to come to terms with his identity.

But on Wednesday morning the 40-year-old Utah County commissioner sat in front of his computer and publicly shared the secret that has caused him pain and confusion since he was 9 years old: He is gay.

In a video posted to Facebook that has since been viewed more than 11,000 times, Ivie embraces his sexual orientation and recounts the difficult experience of growing up feeling at odds “spiritually and biologically.” Ivie is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but he declined to comment on his faith. The Utah-based faith strictly opposes gay marriage and still considers same-sex relationships to be a serious transgression.

... snip ...

The confusion Ivie felt led to his attempted suicide at age 22, then attempts to “cure himself” of gay feelings, he said. The first-term commissioner said his announcement was inspired in part by his work with families who have lost LGBTQ children to suicide.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1009196

[msongs]

1. yawn. did he include an apology for the damage done by his republican and mormon history? nt

[pnwmom]

2. I'll give him credit for what in Mormon country is a brave step. n/t

[mr_lebowski]

3. +1 ... this is NOT an easy thing for a Mormon to do, especially not at 40 y.o.

and ESPECIALLY not as a someone considered to be in a leadership role in LDS life like this guy.

The power of the cult-like control Mormons are raised under, and then live in, is not to be underestimated. I've seen it first hand, my ex-wife is ex-LDS, and most in her family are still active.

[pnwmom]

6. And he has a wife and two young children. This will be a challenge for all of them.

Though Ivie and his wife of 13 years have decided to separate, they will co-parent their two young children. They recently spent Mother’s Day together, and he still refers to her as his best friend.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. LDS Male members belong to the

Priesthood and within the Priesthood is a Pecking order based on your Family Statue within the Church,or Linage of your Decedent from the Founders of their Church Joe and Hiram Smith.

And watch for years how they treat Members who are Gay . The Whisper Campaign is brutal at best. Watched Clerks in Retail Stores refuse to wait on or help someone who was or is a target of the local Outing Campaign.

It will get pure ugly for this fellow. Most likely he will be living in Vegas in the near future like many who have had to move on after coming out or been outed by someone in his Ward.

[murielm99]

13. I used to go to a website for ex LDS people.

An ex LDS friend sent me there. She was one of the nicest people I ever knew. She and her husband struggled when they left the church and family behind.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

4. Wonder if he was about to get outed?

Or has he accepted who he is?

[Javaman]

5. maybe both.

[eallen]

21. Partial credit at most, for something he should have done two decades earlier

There is no wall around Mormon country. Everyone who turns 18 can hitch a ride out. If he had been more honest and upright then, instead of getting a news blurb for coming out as gay while a Mormon Republican, he would be just another secular gay liberal living in an area where all that is normal. If he wants more credit from me, he needs to drop his religion, leave his party, and shout that message to the 18 year-olds in his state.

[pnwmom]

22. Easy to say for someone who's never been a gay Mormon living in Utah.

As the daughter of a gay man who came out in mid-life, I know how hard it would have been. And how hard it will be -- not just for him, but for his wife and children.

You seem to have little understanding of how deeply embedded the Church is in the lives of Mormons, especially those in Utah. Leaving the Church can mean being abandoned by all your friends and your family.

[dewsgirl]

26. Sounds like Scientology.

Leaving the Church can mean being abandoned by all your friends and your family.

[pnwmom]

27. It depends on the individuals involved, but there could be a similarity.

The Mormons seem to have a very strong, supportive network, but the downside is when you leave.

[totodeinhere]

7. That's most likely the end of his political career.

The Mormon Church considers homosexuality to be a sin akin to murder. If
he has any sense he would leave that church for good.

[mr_lebowski]

9. Agreed ... and it could be the beginning of a much more worthy career (nt)

[CDerekGo]

10. another valid reason

Why I'm Atheist. When a 'religion' dictates so much of my daily life, inside and outside of the Church Walls, uh NO! That's where my relationship with 'religion' officially ends. I've watched too many men and women tear themselves apart due to what a silly little book states is right and wrong. Nope, not happening.

Now don't get my wrong. I'll gladly observe your rights to Religion. Just don't expect me to follow along. Our United States Constitution plainly states, Separation of Church and State for a reason.

[pnwmom]

11. There are churches that are gay friendly. This isn't one of them. nt

[DFW]

14. I'm betting it is the Buttigieg candidacy that gave him the courage

Never has there been such a high profile gay politician in the US who had no problems with either his faith or his sexual orientation. This guy saw that, contrary to what he had been told all his life to expect, Buttigieg is happy, successful, and accepted in a state not known for its tolerance. If LDS tosses this guy out, he now knows there are indeed others that would welcome him. That HAS to be of serious comfort (and attraction) to a guy in his position who doesn't want to abandon his religious beliefs altogether.

[pnwmom]

15. He has become high-profile. But several others were recently elected to high profile

political positions -- like the new Mayor of Chicago -- and they probably made a difference, too.

[DFW]

16. Probably so

Over here, the mayor of Chicago doesn't carry the weight the office does back home.

[pnwmom]

17. Salt Lake City has had a gay mayor since 2015. That probably helped, too.

Maybe more than a Democratic Mayor in Indiana who's running for President.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Biskupski

[rpannier]

31. That's true

It opens the possibility that where he lives is less hostile to being LGB; not sure about T though. I know people who are okay with LGB, but not real keen on T's

[pnwmom]

33. Maybe not much less hostile. In SLC, LDS members are now in the minority, but in his county,

Utah County, 82% are Mormons.

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/12/09/salt-lake-county-is-now/

The most LDS counties are Rich (83.86 percent), Morgan (83.18 percent) and Utah, the state’s second most populous county, at 82.18 percent.

[rpannier]

34. True

And the county votes Republican in presidential elections
However, half the county is represented by Ben McAdams Democrat

[Politicub]

12. So he joined the party that works to undermine gay rights?

Maybe he was really greedy. Or, he doesn’t like people to have health insurance.

On edit - Yes, being a gay Mormon is hard and all that. Still doesn’t give him a pass for casting his lot with the GOP.

[pnwmom]

18. He was in denial, and joined the predominant party there. That's part of being in the closet. n/t

[Politicub]

20. The closet is not a fig leaf that covers every bad decision

I grew up in a conservative fundamentalist baptist family. We went to church three times a week.

I didn’t understand that I was gay until I went to college and found my tribe.

But before coming out, I wasn’t a right winger. I became liberal based on what I saw around me and thinking about how the church uses it’s authority to sustain bigotry and fear.

So, no. Joining the Republican Party is not part of being in the closet. That’s a choice he made.

[pnwmom]

23. It is part of being in the closet for many gay Republicans. It's part of their denial. n/t

[Politicub]

24. That, and tapping their feet in bathroom stalls.

[SergeStorms]

29. I imagine there will be an intervention...

and he'll be forced to undergo 'conversion therapy', because......you know, being gay is a choice!

The mormons aren't going to give up that easily.

[rpannier]

32. You'd be surprised

If she isn't going to press the issue (and it appears she isn't), they tend to pull up stakes and move on

[SpankMe]

19. Such BS

Many of his Republican colleagues have issued statements of support, love and acceptance. The assholes are reaping the benefits of significant LGBT acceptance in the current era and are basking in the safe spaces of the current social climate on the issue, all while having fought against it tooth and nail right up until it hits one of them between the eyes. This progress has been brought around solely by the hard work of progressives and the sacrifices of gay people since the 1970's.

But a Republican can waltz out of the closet today and enjoy such a huge burden being lifted.

It's only a matter of time before they start trying to take credit for this progress.

Fuck them. Fuck them all.

[Skittles]

25. and he is a repuke......why?

[totodeinhere]

28. Maybe his epiphany will extend to changing parties.

It would be the right thing for him to do IMO.

[Progressive Jones]

30. He's still a fucking Republican. Still a scumbag.