QUOTE TO NOTE: How He Evolved on LGBT Equality

This past spring, the Missouri legislature has been debating a non-discrimination law based on sexual orientation and gender identity. During one of the hearings, Rep. Galen Higdon, a retired sheriff’s deputy from St. Joseph, said to a witness testifying against the bill:

“I don’t understand why you would object to someone’s private life.”

This response came as a surprise to most because Higdon is a politically and religiously conservative Catholic.  St. Louis Today caught up with him to explain how he arrived at his position of support. The reporter described his response:

“Higdon, 60, indicated that, like much of the country, his position toward gays is complicated and evolving.

“Catholic and married for 41 years with three daughters and five grandchildren, he said he still believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.

“But when a gay couple rented an apartment he owned and told him, ‘we’re just going to use one room’ of the two bedrooms, he assured the couple he had no problem with their living arrangement.

“ ‘I’m not going to live there,’ Higdon said he told them. ‘It was the neatest my flat was ever kept,’ he added.”

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry