Micah Barrick
Hi, my name is Micah Barrick, and I'm here with my beautiful spouse, Morgan.
Morgan Barrick
So, Micah, what is one of your happiest memories?
Micah Barrick
As chaotic as weddings are, I would have to say our wedding.
Morgan Barrick
When we eloped, we surprised my family at Thanksgiving. My mom is an officiant, and I asked her, will you marry me and Micah? We want to do it on Thanksgiving with the whole family in town, just in the living room, and having my mom marry us.
Micah Barrick 0:42
I think we shocked everybody, because we had just gotten engaged, what, 10?
Morgan Barrick
Nine days!
Micah Barrick
Nine days beforehand,
Morgan Barrick
When you know, you know!
Micah Barrick
You do. Yeah, and we knew for a long time, I think we knew the moment we met each other.
Morgan Barrick
We did.
Micah Barrick
I was born into the Mormon Church, and I was about 12 or 13, I knew I was different, you know, and being trans became kind of more talked about. That was like, "oh, okay, so that's the word that explains what I've been feeling for a decade," and I knew that I'd have to eventually step away from the Mormon Church.
Morgan Barrick
I feel like growing up, it was like you just marry a returned missionary and have kids, lots of kids. I didn't realize that I was queer. My two older brothers had come out, and I remember sitting down with a bishop, and I said, "are my brothers going to hell for being gay?" And he said "Yes."
And I said, "I don't believe that," and I stormed out of there so angry, and I never went back. I was just like, "there's no way that the God that I have prayed to my whole life and spent my whole life loving and cherishing is going to send my brothers to hell."
Now, I don't even believe in heaven or hell. That was it for me.
Micah Barrick
I was still an active member of the church up until I was about 25. I didn't even really know there was like a queer community around here until the legalization of gay marriage, and then it was like everybody, everybody came to the courthouse and started getting married. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, there's actually gay and queer people here in St. George, so if I leave the Mormon community, there's somewhere for me to go that I will actually belong."
Morgan Barrick
I want to talk a little bit about that. First pride, so my mom, Linda Stay-
Micah Barrick
She was like the rah-rah cheerleader for the entire queer community.
Morgan Barrick
So, together with Elise West, my mom threw that Pride, and maybe 100 people showed up. Wasn't that many people, but it was huge to us.
Micah Barrick
It was.
Morgan Barrick
I remember seeing you there.
Micah Barrick
I remember seeing you too. You were wearing this like rainbow tutu, but we didn't meet until a few years later when you and your brother started...
Morgan Barrick
A queer supper club
Micah Barrick
Queer supper club.
Morgan Barrick
When you came to supper club, my heart literally stopped.
Micah Barrick
I liked you, and it scared me, because at the time you were the token straight girl.
Morgan Barrick
Within months we went to gay prom, so Micah was at prom with another girl, and everyone was with someone, and I went just to see you. And then finally I got you to date me. I think we're lucky.
Earlier I didn't say I believed in heaven or hell, but I actually do believe in heaven on earth, we really do see each other, love each other, accept each other. We've been through a lot.
Micah Barrick
Created our own little safe place.
Morgan Barrick
Yes. Yeah. We created our own little country, which is just the perimeter of our house, and named it Bambaska. And so, when things get really hard, we are our own little country in our house, and nothing can happen or....
Micah and Morgan Barrick
Affect us there!
