I'm sitting here finishing my coffee with big ol tears in my eyes. What a beautiful story, what beautiful men and what a beautiful tale about the love of a father. Thank you for sharing that Jeanne.

I too grew up Mormon; being told that I was barely a step abover murderers in the scheme of things for being gay. The roller coaster ride with my devoutly Mormon family over the past 30 years has been a wild one with enough hurt to fill a couple of oceans. The past few years we all worked hard at restoring civil relationships with each other and I proudly told my friends, "Never give up on your Mormon families because it is possible to mend fences and have loving relationships with them."

And then Prop 8 came into the picture and everything fell apart once again. This time sadly, it's really over. My family, including my twin who's a bishop, have been pumping their time, money and energy into getting Prop 8 passed. My mom, who had been silent on the subject for many years, reminded me that I knew that "god" disapproves of what I do and that it's wrong and a sin. She was a breath away from frothing at the mouth when she said it.

Mormons have wrought more harm with their attitudes towards homosexuality than anybody will probably ever realize. I see a lot of it firsthand because I work with gay mormons in a non-professional environment and maintain a website for gay mormons and gay ex-mormons to share their stories. Other religions may do lip service to their condemnation of homosexuality but Mormonism backs it up with a full set of teeth and a very strong bite.

Prop 8 has drawn blood yet again within Mormon families and a lot of us out here have finally thrown in the towel. It's just not worth it anymore to be in constant upset and pain with our families. So to read this story this morning about two handsome red-headed grooms in kilts and a loving Mormon father is heartening and wonderful and reminds me that somewhere out there on Prop 8's battlefield there are victories being won, even if just on a very personal level.

"I don't know where the line of "tolerance" ought to be drawn on this one. According to Salon, though, it's only if you celebrate your son's wedding to a man with a heartfelt, poignant toast."

It was Jeanne Carstensen expressing these opinions, not Salon. The owners, editors and employees of Salon may well have differing opinions. Here at Salon there are often wildly differing opinions expressed on a variety of subjects in countless editorial essays. This happens to be Ms. Carstensen's story and point of view.

"As a practicing Latter-day Saint, I suppose I haven't "completed the journey," as Salon would put it, since I still believe intimacy should only be between a married man and woman."

Journeys are seldom completed since we are evolutionary, sentient beings. Many practicing Mormons however, have ended their journeys with the words of their elderly leaders who have for many years insisted that "When the prophet has spoken the thinking has been done." Your religion makes it possible for you to stop thinking but in the real world most of us don't really have that option; we have to keep thinking and growing and evolving in order that we and our societies may survive and flourish.

"While this man's family was there at his wedding, I doubt that they have changed their minds about fundamental Gospel teachings."

George Redd and his wife Marsha were there at their son's wedding, blessing Jay not only with their presence but with their wishes for a loving life with his sweetheart Brian. It's interesting that you would opinionate on their very private beliefs. It feels as if you want to take away the extraordinary gift of unconditional love that George and Marsha extended to their son and his sweetheart on their wedding day. Where on earth does that kind of cynicism come from?

"In Latter-day Saint theology, exaltation comes from the Atonement and then through the family unit: marriage between a man and a woman. It's not amenable to swapping out the woman for a man, no matter how "happy" they may be."

That's cool. You are of course entitled to those opinions and beliefs, as mean-spirited as they appear to be: "...no matter how "happy" they may be." Putting the word happy in parentheses implies that Jay & Brian's happiness is questionable and/or flawed. That is an amazing amount of hubris and judgement. Wow.

Religious belief trumps happiness in your world but over here on this side of the fence most of humanity is in hot pursuit of happiness. And life and liberty too! And not all of us are capable of finding it in the eccentric world of Mormonism.

George and Marsha Redd are the real saints in all of this. They have shown us, with such beautiful simplicity, what real saints do when push comes to shove. Their story is heartwarming and inspiring and gives me hope for those Mormons who still haven't figured out how to love their children unconditionally.

My apologies for writing parentheses instead of quotation marks in my post below.