Gays

Advocate - At Baylor University, a private Baptist institution in Waco, Texas, where questions of faith and identity have long been tightly policed, students gathered Wednesday for something that, until recently, would have been difficult to imagine. They called it “All Are Neighbors.”

The event, organized by a coalition of student groups, brought LGBTQ+-affirming Christian voices to campus in a deliberate counterpoint to a same-day stop by Turning Point USA, the far-right political group that targets young people.

For the first time, Baylor students were permitted to host prominent LGBTQ+ Christian advocates... It marked a rare moment in which out gay Christian voices were given a sanctioned platform at the university.

Related: Texas Baptists might end 140-year relationship with Baylor over one LGBTQ+ event

hrc president kelley robinson Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson speaks about LGBTQ+ people and faith out of personal experience.Human Rights Campaign

Robinson made clear the moment didn’t come easily.  “We are here. On this campus, in this moment, together. Because this didn’t just happen,” she said. “This moment exists because people spoke up. Because students organized. Because a community decided that if harmful ideas were going to have a platform, then truth would have one too.”