Gehrke: Utah now has its first openly gay Republican officeholder and his courage gives the state an

[mountaineer]

Gehrke: Utah now has its first openly gay Republican officeholder and his courage gives the state an opportunity to grow
 By Robert Gehrke
 Â·  Published: 1 day ago
Updated: 1 day ago

Utah County Commissioner Nathan Ivie took to Facebook last week to make a significant announcement, and playing in the background of his video was an acoustic version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”

If you’re of my generation, you probably know it. “Well, I’ve been afraid of changing,” the song goes, “… but time makes you bolder, even children get older, and I’m getting older, too.”

Ivie’s announcement, as you’ve probably heard, is that he is gay. “I realized I could not continue to live a lie,” he said. “It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right for anyone.”

From a purely political standpoint, the courage Ivie showed is remarkable. Utah County is, of course, Republican country, some of the reddest in the nation. Not only that, it’s that special strain of strident moralistic Republicanism that looks with disdain on people like Ivie.  ...

But it also poses an opportunity. Ivie has said he doesn’t want to be defined by his sexuality, but he could be an important voice in the party, proving to his fellow Republicans that it is possible to be conservative — “committed … to faith, family and freedom,” as Ivie put it — and be gay. ...

Salt Lake City Tribune

Angling for a job with the Village People?

Seriously, if you really don't want to be define by your sexuality, why mention it?

[sneakypete]

Utah now has its first openly gay Republican officeholder...

Be a hero and vote for an openly sad Republican officeholder.

Why do all the happy homos get all the attention?

[mountaineer]

Other sources indicate he's Mormon. I wonder how well his gayness is going over with church officials.

He’s a Republican, a Mormon, a Utah County Commissioner, married to a woman, and gay. Nathan Ivie came out of the closet this week in a Facebook video.

Ivie said he attempted suicide at the age of 22 and tried to “cure” himself, and he wanted his announcement to help LGBTQ kids who were having similar thoughts: “That really makes you re-evaluate your life, and what you’re doing as a leader to prevent that kind of stuff.”

A horse trainer, Ivie said that “I’ve spent most of my life feeling like the horse that was defective, broken, and destined for the kill pen. In recent years, though, that has changed.”

Ivie said that he has “shared his truth” with his wife and they have agreed to dissolve their marriage, and she is still his best friend. ...  More

What a very confused person he seems to be.