Can gay students At BYU now kiss and hold hands?

[Guest]

Deseret News opens it’s article with a bit of a fib...

The updated honor code no longer includes a section on same-sex behavior. That section had proscribed “all forms of physical intimacy.”

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2020/2/19 ... vior-lgbtq

That suggests it’s been removed. It hasn’t, it’s just been incorporated into other sections.

Under the code, each member of the BYU community continues to commit personally to “abstaining from any sexual relations outside a marriage between a man and a woman.”

Interestingly, the new Honor Code has led to some confusion for gay students.

Previously, BYU’s honor code included a section on “homosexual behavior” that stated, “One’s stated same-gender attraction is not an honor code issue. However, the honor code requires all members of the university community to manifest a strict commitment to the law of chastity. Homosexual behavior is inappropriate and violates the honor code. Homosexual behavior includes not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings.”

That definition included hand-holding and kissing.

Wednesday’s announcement confused some people because it no longer specifies how same-gender couples can display affection. Students sought clarifications from the Honor Code Office, asking whether they now could hold hands and kiss on campus.

BYU responded on its Twitter feed.

“In speaking with Honor Code Office Director Kevin Utt this afternoon, we’ve learned that there may have been some miscommunication as to what the honor code changes mean,” the administration said via its @BYU Twitter account. “Even though we have removed the more prescriptive language, the principles of the Honor Code remain the same.

No change here, gay students are still being discriminated against at BYU.

[_I have a question]

Standing in the shadow of the iconic campus statue of Brigham Young, Franchesca Lopez leaned forward, grabbed her friend, Kate Foster, and kissed her.
The seconds-long embrace was meant to be a celebration. To them, though, it was also historic.
The two women, students at Brigham Young University, ran to that special spot on campus Wednesday as soon as they heard that the conservative Utah school had quietly removed from its Honor Code the section titled “Homosexual Behavior.” That part of the strict campus rules had long banned students from “all forms of physical intimacy” between members of the same sex.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2 ... rs-remove/

But students who contacted the office quickly posted on social media what they said they had learned — and many were cheering. Kirk Bowman, a recent graduate, said the director of the office told him the change would mean LGBTQ students would no longer be disciplined or expelled for being in relationships — kissing or holding hands — as long as they follow the faith’s existing expectation that couples remain chaste until marriage.

Lopez said she was told the same thing by a counselor at the office and was delighted. She posted the picture of her kiss on Twitter with the BYU namesake statue’s bronze eyes watching over the intimate moment. She then danced around the campus, she said, holding hands with other female students and singing the Katy Perry hit “I Kissed a Girl.”

[_moksha]

She posted the picture of her kiss on Twitter with the BYU namesake statue’s bronze eyes watching over the intimate moment. She then danced around the campus, she said, holding hands with other female students and singing the Katy Perry hit “I Kissed a Girl.”

Someone at HQ is bound to read this to President Oaks. He will do a flash burn and calmly announce, "There will be hell to pay and just as soon as I do the calculations those students will know how much".

[_Madison54]

From CNN today:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/us/brigh ... index.html

The change is mostly a step forward, said Nathan Kitchen, president of Affirmation, an organization for LGBTQ Mormons.
"As anything that has to do with religion and LGBTQ+, it's a victory, but then it's not quite a victory," Kitchen, a BYU graduate, told CNN.
Kitchen said he spoke to the Honor Code Office on Thursday morning, and officers told him that they'll allow same-sex student couples to kiss, hold hands and date. They'll also no longer accept tips from other students or ecclesiastical leaders about "homosexual behavior" on campus, Kitchen said -- it'll all be self-reported.

[_Dr Exiled]

What are the church nannies going to do at BYU if they are truly out of a job? There are souls at stake here and only by righteous spying and reporting can the unwary be saved from themselves. What is Oaks thinking? Is religious freedom truly at an end?

[_Shulem]

We interrupt this thread to bring you a special message from a sponsor!



Lesbian BYU girlz rock!

[_Lemmie]

Um, maybe I’m gay and just didn’t know it. There is a lot of handholding, arm in arm walking, spontaneous touching and hugging, and even kissing amongst my (girl)friend circle, and we’re old. I can only imagine how that translates into what groups of squealy young BYU freshwomen, bunched together in Helaman Halls, are doing now.

How will the honor police distinguish between friendly touching and forbidden touching? Is there a breathalyzer or something for that?

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

I can only imagine how that translates into what groups of squealy young BYU freshwomen, bunched together in Helaman Halls, are doing now.

[_Lemmie]

I can only imagine how that translates into what groups of squealy young BYU freshwomen, bunched together in Helaman Halls, are doing now.

[_SteelHead]

Win, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!