A lmost 300 members of The Church of the Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormons, have taken part in Salt Lake City’s Gay Pride march. The Church members, most of whom were straight, turned up to show their solidarity with other marchers. The Church has been strongly opposed to homosexuality and gay marriage ever since it was founded in the 1820s. The marchers were part of Mormons Building Bridges, an organisation set up to show support for LGBTs in the USA. Mormons Building Bridges recently added a youtube video to the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign and will continue to voice their message of support for the LGBT community.
The Mormons have been outspoken against same-sex marriage since the issue first arose in the mid-90s. Since then, they have issued a statement overtly stating their belief that homosexual acts are wrong in the eyes of God. Salt Lake City is home to the headquarters of the Mormon Church and the city itself was founded by members of the religion. There were many tears in the eyes of Pridegoers when the sight of almost 300 Mormons in their Sunday best arrived on the march. Locals have hailed this a triumph for tolerance. The Mormon Church itself has so far not made any official comment on the march.
