BYU instructor
fired for supporting same-sex marriage

A part-time philosophy instructor at Brigham Young University has been fired after publicly criticizing the Mormon Church's opposition to same-sex marriage. In an op-ed piece Jeffrey Nielsen published in The Salt Lake Tribune last week, he called the church's opposition "immoral," and the teacher has since been told by officials at the Mormon-owned university in Provo, Utah, that he will not be rehired, the Associated Press reports. "I believe opposing gay marriage and seeking a constitutional amendment against it is immoral," Nielsen wrote in the op-ed, published June 4. But Mormon Church leaders were not pleased to read that, considering their denomination has funded a multimillion-dollar campaign against same-sex marriage and in support of a constitutional ban on it, a measure the church asked its members to support on May 28. So he was given notice on June 8 in a letter from the chair of the philosophy department. "Since you have chosen to contradict and oppose the church in an area of great concern to church leaders, and to do so in a public forum, we will not rehire you after the current term is over," the letter read, according to AP. A BYU spokeswoman confirmed that Nielsen will not be rehired. Despite being let go, Nielsen told AP that he has "no desire to be anything but a member of the church." (The Advocate)