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Steve Young speaks at LGBT affirmation conference

Posted at 10:45 PM, Sep 14, 2013
and last updated 2013-09-15 00:45:58-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Hundreds of people crammed into the University of Utah ballroom Saturday night to listen to Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young.

Young was the keynote speaker at the 32nd annual Affirmation Conference, a three-day event for the Mormon lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Young and his wife, Barbara, are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and supporters of the LGBT community.

Fox 13 spoke to several conference attendees to get their reaction to Young's scheduled appearance:

"Having him and wife coming to speak as keynote speakers for this conference, it's just amazing," said Kai Groves. "It's shocking in a way, but not really, because they've done this in the past."

"I'm shocked that they even got him,” Joshua Behn said. “This is a very high-profile individual; everybody knows him. It's a watershed moment. This is this whole Mormon movement that's been building up this whole year. This is part of that."

"I was always a 49ers fan growing up, and love Steve Young," Jamison Manwaring said. "When I found out he was coming, I got excited and invited a lot of friends and said, ‘You need to come to this.’"

"The fact that he and his wife have been so affirming to LGBT community, it means a lot," said Kathy Carlston. "It's nice to have somebody who is kind enough to fight for the underdog, so I think he's really cool."

"I think that is so cool," Neca Allgood said. "He is such a public figure, particularly here in Utah where, OK, I've been a Niners fan for a long, long time. I think it's very nice that he and Barb are here to be publicly expressing their support and love for the LGBT community."