Mormon Halloween bash bans 'cross-gender' costumes

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? A recent Halloween party hosted by a Mormon church ward in the U.S. specified no "cross-gender" costumes.

The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper reports that the ban meant no girls dressed as Harry Potter, for example.

Raquel Smith says she was "appalled" when she read the party flier taped to her door. She is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Smith calls the ban "fear-mongering and hate-driven."

LDS Bishop Dennis Toone says he thought the rule was church policy, but it wasn't.

He says anyone who didn't like the rule didn't have to come.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-10-28-Cross-gender%20Costume%20Ban/id-f1d21bf94e664c7ab54392f5d8e85bc9

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