Faith drives Idaho legislator to reverse same-sex marriage. These faith leaders push back

A decade ago, the Rev. Josh Lee finally came to terms with his sexuality. 

From a young age, Lee knew he wanted to be a pastor, but his attraction to men conflicted with his evangelical Christian upbringing. Raised in Illinois, Lee tried “conversion therapy” three times in high school, and as a young pastor he believed he would live single and celibate for the rest of his life. 

Within one month of moving to Idaho, the now married and openly gay pastor at Boise First United Church of Christ spoke up against legislation impacting the state’s LGBTQ+ community. House Joint Memorial 1 — which passed 46-24 in the Idaho House of Representatives on Jan. 27 — is now headed to the Idaho Senate. The memorial asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its decision on same-sex marriage. While the North Idaho lawmaker who sponsored the memorial said it pushes to restore states rights and “the natural definition of marriage,” Lee and other faith leaders say the memorial misrepresents their faith.

Lee’s journey to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in Idaho has been difficult. For many years, he was miserable, filled with self hatred, and had even contemplated taking his own life.

“I thought … maybe God would welcome me into heaven if I could die having been faithful to his cause,” he told the Idaho Capital Sun. 

That was until he met other Christians from gay-affirming churches in 2015. After coming out and leaving the church where he had been pastoring, Lee began studying queer theology and deconstructing his faith. For the first time, he allowed himself to date men. 

“I was taught that racism didn’t exist, that women should submit to men, and that men have ultimate veto power over women,” he said, reflecting on his former beliefs.

Now, as Idaho lawmakers push to take away same-sex marriage, Lee said he can see his former self in the lawmakers who, like he once did, believe their faith defines marriage as solely between a man and woman. 

Biblical values guide Idaho lawmaker’s memorial

House Joint Memorial 1 is not a bill, and its passage in both chambers would not adjust Idaho law. Its passage, however, would send the memorial to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Idaho already defines marriage between a man and woman in its state Constitution, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges declared that definition unconstitutional. If those federal protections were ever reversed, a ban on same-sex marriage would immediately take effect in Idaho. 

The memorial’s sponsor, Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, told the House floor the bill is meant to restore states’ rights to define marriage. Scott could not be reached for comment. However, in an interview with The Ranch Podcast, Scott compared the issue to Roe v. Wade, saying that court precedent can be overturned.

“This is a Judeo-Christian based country, and our constitution was designed for a moral people,” Scott said in the podcast. “So that morality was built on God’s word … That’s what our country was built on.” 

Scott said the Bible is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. Some Christian faiths, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, share this perspective. The LDS faith, which has 476,000 of its nearly 7 million nationwide members located in Idaho, does not permit church officers to perform same-sex marriages, according to its website.

“Just don’t force me to say that that’s a marriage, because in my eyes, that’s an abomination to God,” Scott said in the podcast. “Do I respect those people? Absolutely. Do I hate them because they believe in something different? No. I have no ill will towards them. I don’t want their lives to be harder or anything like that. I want them to know the truth, but at the same time I don’t want to keep things from them.”

Her bill received support from the Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative organization focused on implementing Christian-based policies. Blaine Conzatti, president of the organization, said the Idaho Family Policy Center affirms “the biblical design for marriage is one man and one woman, joined together in a union blessed by God.” 

“The Bible is clear that deviation from this design is a perversion of the sacred institution of marriage,” Conzatti told the Sun. “Because marriage was created by God for the organization of family life and child rearing, government has no legitimate authority to restructure this pre-political institution.”