Equality Riders, others cited for trespassing at Brigham Young  | News | Advocate.com

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April 12, 2006
Equality Riders, others cited for trespassing at Brigham Young

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)

© 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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