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Gay Poetry, Not Mormon Prayer, in Utah


Christine Johnson Poetry x390 (Screen grab) | Advocate.com

Utah representative Christine Johnson opened the house session Wednesday morning with the words of a lesbian poet instead of the customary prayer often read by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

According to ABC 4  in Salt Lake City, Johnson read the poem “Say Yes” by award-winning lesbian poet Andrea Gibson.

Johnson, who represents Salt Lake City, is a lesbian. She is currently carrying a baby for two gay men.

"Most of my colleagues are LDS and I respect that, but for me I wanted something different,” Johnson told ABC 4.

Johnson did censure the poem slightly, cutting the line "for the radical anarchist asking a Republican to dance.”

According to ABC 4, the irony is that few if any of the other legislators realized their chamber had gone gay.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Vincent
    Date posted: 2/12/2010 11:13:14 AM
    Hometown: New Jersey

    Comment:

    Censor, not censure.

  • Name: Jim
    Date posted: 2/11/2010 4:34:27 PM
    Hometown: Northampton, MA

    Comment:

    Most people in politics pay lip service to organized religion, including the opening prayers in legislative sessions. But most of their minds are elsewhere. It's good to shake up the tradition a bit. (But the word "censure" was intended to be "censor"?)



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