Ten years ago I interviewed WordPerfect co-founder and philanthropist Bruce Bastian, wherein we discussed his life growing up as gay Mormon boy in Idaho, his years at WordPerfect, his journey “coming out” as a gay Mormon father in the 1990s, and his early efforts to support LGBTQ rights.
Since this first interview, Bruce became even more active in fighting for LGBTQ equality in the United States, continuing his involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and supporting LGBTQ equality in Utah – all of which meaningfully contributed to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States in 2015.
Recently I sat down again with Bruce to record a history of these past 10 years from his perspective. I hope you enjoy!
Gay marriage was legalized in June 2015. In Nov 2015, just 5 months later, the LDS policy against those who are gay and their children was issued. It appears that the church wasn’t on board with the updated marriage law.
Excellent interview!