Chandler Horning lives in Meridian, ID. He is a gay man.

He attended Brigham Young University – Idaho from 2015 until graduating in 2020. BYU’s honor code states that students, faculty, and staff must “live a chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from any sexual relations outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.”

Chandler did not feel safe coming out on campus, and when he did come out, he attended school online. When he returned to on-campus learning for two semesters, he returned to the closet, fearing expulsion. “I was damaged by BYU’s policies,” he said. “I spent my time there afraid that I would get expelled and therefore evicted from my BYU housing for breaking their honor code.”

Chandler specifically worried about BYU’s housing policy, which states that students who are expelled or suspended are evicted from the school’s mandatory housing in three days’ time. “Losing my housing would have left me homeless in rural Idaho,” he said.

Chandler is raising his voice to protect all LGBTQ+ students at Brigham Young University – Idaho and religiously affiliated colleges across the country.