Five Soulforce
activists were cited for trespassing and escorted off
the campus at Brigham Young University Monday after
demonstrating against the Mormon Church's antigay
policies as part of the Equality Ride. A rally was
held later that day at nearby Kiwanis Park in Provo, Utah.
The five were members of Soulforce, a gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender group, and have
been taking part in a Soulforce Equality Ride, in
which they and other members of the group are making a
nationwide tour to schools they believe discriminate against
gays. The group included Jake Reitan of Minneapolis,
codirector of the Equality Ride; Reitan's parents,
Randi and Phil Reitan; Rebecca Solomon of Houston; and
Diane Bedwell of Ellensburg, Wash. BYU was the 13th
campus on a 20-stop tour.
"This is the fourth school where we've had
arrests take place," said Richard Lindsay, spokesman
for the Equality Ride. "Most of the schools we've
visited so far have been pretty generous and pretty
welcoming, and we've been able to do discussions and
presentations on campus without a problem."
BYU police loaded the five into a van after the
demonstrators yelled to a campus crowd that the
policies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, BYU's owner, are killing gays. BYU spokeswoman Carri
Jenkins said, "We had made it very clear that visitors were
welcome on campus with restrictions but could not use
campus as a public forum." The Equality
Riders were asked to stop the activities and
leave campus but refused. "They knew that they were in
violation," Jenkins said.
Other activists remained on the campus through
the day and talked with students. They said their goal
was to create awareness and educate BYU students about
religious-based discrimination against gays.
BYU police officers, dressed in suits, and
several university officials monitored the discussions
and broke up groups they considered too large.
Hundreds of students stopped to speak with the riders, some
in opposition, some in support.
Jon Harrop, a sophomore from Mesa, Ariz., said,
"It's been neat to see good conversations. It's giving
them a better taste of what members [of the church]
are like."
About 200 people attended the park rally. The
Mormon Church considers homosexuality a sin, and its
practice is grounds for excommunication. The church
has spent millions of dollars campaigning against legalizing
same-sex marriage in states across the country. (AP)
