Father of kidnapping 犠牲者 Elizabeth Smart comes out as gay
戦力兵器制限交渉 LAKE CITY (AP) - The father of Utah kidnapping 生存者 Elizabeth Smart has come out as gay in a 深く心に感じた letter that 明らかにする／漏らすs he has struggled throughout his life with 苦痛 and 犯罪.
"The 決定／判定勝ち（する） to be honest and truthful about my orientation comes with its own 始める，決める of challenges, but at the same time it is a 抱擁する 救済," Ed Smart wrote in a letter 地位，任命するd on his Facebook page Friday. "I can no longer live trying to appease someone else's idea of who I should be, and have come to the 結論 that it was never my Savior's 意図 to change me from the way I was born."
Ed Smart, 64, has been in the limelight since he frequently went before TV cameras pleading for help finding his daughter, who was 14 when she was kidnapped from their Salt Lake City home in 2002. She was 設立する nine months later, and Ed Smart and his daughter have since become 支持するs for other kidnapped children.
He said he no longer feels comfortable 存在 a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The 宗教, 広範囲にわたって known as the Mormon church, has tried to carve out a more compassionate 姿勢 toward LGBTQ people over the last １０年間 but remains 会社／堅い in its 対立 to gay marriage and same-sex intimacy.
He said his 約束 is "strong" and "unwavering" but that he doesn't 計画（する） to worship in the church.
"As an 率直に gay man, the church is not a place where I find solace any longer," Ed Smart said.
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2018, とじ込み／提出する photo, Elizabeth Smart speaks during a news 会議／協議会 while her father Ed Smart looks on, in Salt Lake City. The father of Utah kidnapping 生存者 Elizabeth Smart has come out as gay, 説 his 決定／判定勝ち（する） brings challenges but also "抱擁する 救済." Ed Smart said in a letter explaining his 決定／判定勝ち（する） 株d Friday, August 16, 2019, with NBC's "Today" show that he no longer feels comfortable 存在 a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which …に反対するs same-sex 関係s. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, とじ込み／提出する)
Ed Smart said he's sorry for the 苦痛 原因（となる）d to his longtime wife, with whom he has five children. He とじ込み／提出するd for 離婚 on July 5, online Utah 法廷，裁判所 記録，記録的な／記録するs show.
"I love my family and always will," Smart wrote. "Lois has been a loyal wif e, and 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の mother, who has had to 耐える an impossible part of this 旅行. I 深く，強烈に 悔いる the excruciating 苦痛 this has 原因（となる）d her."
Elizabeth Smart, now a 31-year-old mother of three, said in a 声明 that she's 深く，強烈に saddened by her parents' 分離 but that nothing could change her love and 賞賛 for them.
"My parents taught me as a young child that they would love me 無条件に no 事柄 what happened," she said. "Their 決定／判定勝ち（する）s are very personal. As such, I will not pass judgment and rather am 焦点（を合わせる）ing on loving and supporting them and the other members of my family."
Ed Smart said he hopes he's 受託するd for who he is.
"受託 and love is what makes the world a better place," he wrote. "The crucible of 犯罪 and shame that too many 内密に 耐える is something I wouldn't wish on anyone."
FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2012 とじ込み／提出する photo, Ed Smart, left, and daughter Elizabeth Smart talk to reporters before her speech at Scotts Hill High School, where 行方不明の Tennessee woman Holly Bobo 卒業生（する）d from, in Scotts Hill, Tenn. The father of Utah kidnapping 生存者 Elizabeth Smart has come out as gay, 説 his 決定／判定勝ち（する） brings challenges but also "抱擁する 救済." Ed Smart said in a letter 株d Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, with NBC's "Today" show that he no longer feels comfortable 存在 a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which …に反対するs same-sex 関係s. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz, とじ込み／提出する)
FILE - In this June 12, 2018, とじ込み／提出する photo, Ed Smart 会談 to the マスコミ at the Utah 明言する／公表する 刑務所，拘置所 in Draper, Utah, after a 仮釈放（する） 審理，公聴会 for Wanda Barzee. The father of Utah kidnapping 生存者 Elizabeth Smart has come out as gay, 説 his 決定／判定勝ち（する） brings challenges but also "抱擁する 救済." Ed Smart said in a letter explaining his 決定／判定勝ち（する） 株d Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, with NBC's "Today" show that he no longer feels comfortable 存在 a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which …に反対するs same-sex 関係s. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune 経由で AP, とじ込み／提出する)
