Franklin Gene Leggett (1935–1987) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister who was the first

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

minister to be defrocked by the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

for being homosexual, in 1971.

Early life and family

Franklin Gene Leggett was born on March 19, 1935, in

Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 74,569 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and in 2019, its estimated population was 101,170, making it the second-largest city ...

. He had three sons with his wife, Fanny. Leggett was raised Methodist and participated in Methodist Sunday school and Methodist Youth Fellowship.

Disciplinary actions regarding homosexuality

In 1965 a parishioner suspected that Leggett was homosexual and hired a private investigator. The parishioner notified the church office and Leggett was confronted with the investigation's results. He was given the option of resigning from his current position and finding a job outside of a parish for the issue to be dropped. As Leggett at that time was not openly gay, he accepted the offer. Leggett came out as homosexual publicly with a letter to his friends and family in 1971. A month later from his coming out letter he was suspended by the Southwest Texas Conference by a vote of 144 to 117. The

Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...

confronted the church delegates and demanded that the church "cease the harassment" of Gene Leggett. After his suspension, Leggett said that he wanted to "continue the ministry as a Christian and, hopefully, as a Methodist." Later in 1974 the church allowed Leggett to appeal his suspension however his appeal was denied.

1972 General Conference

In 1972 the United Methodist Church continued to develop the ''

Book of Discipline A Book of Discipline (or in its shortened form Discipline) is a book detailing the beliefs, standards, doctrines, canon law, and polity of a particular Christian denomination. They are often re-written by the governing body of the church concerned ...

'' and adopted a statement on sexual morality. The statement as drafted and proposed read: "Homosexuals no less than heterosexuals are of sacred worth, who need the ministry and guidance of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship which enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. Further we insist that all persons are entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured." At this point Leggett had already been defrocked; however, there was no justifiable reason for his relocation as there was no rule in the Book of Discipline that prevented homosexuals from being clergy. This statement was struggling to pass so Don Hand, a delegate from South Texas, suggested that the period be replaced with a comma with the addition of "although we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching" added to the end. This is known as the Hand Amendment and later the Incompatibility Clause. Leggett was to give a speech before the Hand Amendment was voted on; however, church officials prevented him from speaking. This speech can be found in the LGBTQ Religious Archives.

Ministries

Leggett founded and participated in the United Methodist Gay Caucus, which later became known as Affirmation. He led a house called "House of the Covenant" for people whom he felt the church had not reached. This was a ministry for homosexuals in Dallas. He was a lay-leader and member of St. Stephen's United Methodist Church after he was defrocked. At St. Stephen's, he taught children's Sunday school classes, classes for adults, and served on church committees.

Activism

To protest his defrocking, Leggett along with some of his friends during the ordination ceremonies at the Southwest Texas Annual Conference would stand gagged with his liturgical stole around his hands and mouth. He also organized a similar protest at the Minnesota Annual Conference when Rick Huskey was defrocked in 1977. Leggett and Rick Huskey met at the 1972 United Methodist General Conference in Atlanta. In 1973, the two traveled along the east coast speaking with gay and lesbian United Methodists. They led the first national meeting of the United Methodist Gay Caucus in 1975.

Death

Leggett died on December 31, 1987, at

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, at the age of 52, from hepatitis.https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/exhibits/profiles/gene-leggett/Obituary%20in%20Affirmation%20News.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leggett, Gene 1935 births 1987 deaths Methodist ministers LGBT Methodist clergy LGBT people from Texas People from Edinburg, Texas