Ed Smart Speaks On Coming Out

LEHI, Ut. – Ed Smart, the father of Elizabeth Smart and advocate for missing persons, has spoken out publicly for the first time since coming out as a gay man in August.

Smart was one of the keynote speakers during the third annual Encircle Summit for LGBTQ youth, young adults and their parents/allies. The conference, formerly known as IGNITE, was held at Podium and Adobe’s headquarters in Lehi, Utah.

“In my situation, I felt that being gay was something that was not acceptable, it was something that I didn’t want,” Ed Smart shared about his same sex-attraction.

Speaking publicly for the first time since coming out, Smart shared that he believes he was born gay.

Smart spoke about his experience coming out to family and friends in August before divorcing his wife.

“You know I thought Elizabeth’s ordeal was very difficult but this one has been more difficult because it not only affected Elizabeth but it affected my entire family,” Smart said.