|
Red Meat for a Blue State
|
|
Search The Archives
Log In
Publishers
Editors
Majority Reporters
Latest Reports
|
Donald Lathbury
Prop 8: Mormon Influence on Yes Campaign Now a National Story
The Atlantic Monthly's Andrew Sullivan picked up on the staggering influence the Church of Latter Day Saints has had on the Yes on Prop 8 campaign in his piece, "Mormons v. Civil Rights".
Indeed, while figures on Mormon giving vary from around 40 percent to 80 percent, whatever the exact number, the influence clearly goes far beyond their actual population in California, which hovers below two percent. Why are out-of-state members of a minority religion very familiar with state-sponsored discrimination so interested in spreading the wealth to California's gay and lesbian populations? Sullivan has a theory:
With Senator John McCain's imploded presidential campaign leaving many Republicans scratching their heads wondering what could have been done differently to save the sinking GOP ship, perhaps there's some forward thinking involved in favor of Mitt "Almost the First Mormon President in U.S. History" Romney. Or maybe they, like the Christianist Alliance Defense Fund and Focus on the Family, just want to impose their religious dogmas on those with different faiths. Why should the Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, and Unitarian Universalist denominations, which all back marriage equality, be denied the ability to wed the couples of their choosing? Because James Dobson and Mormon Elders said so? To dozens of faith communities, that's not sufficient. Whatever the LDS chuch's motivation, it's a moot question. Their dollars and volunteers are here, and evangelical churches that not too long ago considered them fringe heretics have called at least a temporary cease fire. It's up to all Californians who oppose writing specific religious doctrines into our state constitution, friendly LDS members included, to fight back against this alarming blurring of church-state separation. Image courtesy Americans United. Print this report | Send to a friend About Donald Lathbury | All Reports by Donald Lathbury Marriage Equality
Note: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content. You must be logged in to comment. You may log in or create an account. I really don't think most gay couples have any interest in being married in a LDS Temple. Anyway, not even all LDS members can be married in their temples. Only certain members who meet specific criteria. They certainly never marry, or "seal", non-LDS members in their temple. I've never heard of complaints. Many churches only marry members of their church. It's fairly typical. The thing is, everyone has a different definition of morality. Look how many versions of it you get just from the Jews, or the Christians. So, instead of changing the Constitution to capitulate to the LDS church, how about we focus on the civil rights issues, and let the churches govern themselves, and marry whom they like ? Prop 8 doesn't change churches tax exempt status or their exemptions from discrimination laws. They can marry whomever them like. The claim that Prop 8 could somehow lead to churches being forced to marry same-sex couples is utterly bogus. The civil law does not and cannot control church law, including who a church will recognize as married. It only deals with who the state will recognize as married under civil law. The civil law has recognized interracial couples for many years, and yet there is no civil legal requirement that churches *must* marry interracial couples, or recognize them as married under church law. Nor could there be, because we have separation of church and state. (Most churches do recognize interracial couples; but that is their own choice, not something that the civil law has forced upon them.) It's easy for people to get worried about the extreme views in either direction. Is government going to force religions out of the state? Are churches going to wield power to legislate? I think people are getting too angry at each other over this. People can vote No without being immoral, and people can vote Yes without being intolerant. I'm voting Yes because I value children's rights to be raised by a father and mother above those equality rights supported by others. That's just how I think. Don't let friends get carried away into a feeling of hate on either side. Both sides should respect the others as they make their own decisions. Re: Prop 8: Mormon Influence on Yes Campaign Now a National StoryPosted by: Donald Lathbury on October 28, 2008"Is government going to force religions out of the state?" No. Of course not. Dozens of faith communities oppose Prop 8 anyway. Prop 8 doesn't amend the First Amendment, and we have stricter privacy laws in California than the country has. "Are churches going to wield power to legislate?" I'm not sure what this means. If you're asking will churches impose specific dogmas on other churches that disagree, we'll find out on election day. "I'm voting Yes because I value children's rights to be raised by a father and mother above those equality rights supported by others. That's just how I think." What does one have to do with the other? Prop 8 doesn't impact gay and lesbian couples' ability to raise, adopt, or foster children. With or without Prop 8, that institution will stand, and it won't go away. What Prop 8's passage DOES do is force those children into homes that aren't bonded by marriage. Marriage doesn't exist for children, but children are usually better off if the parents, adoptive or otherwise, are in committed relationships. And I'll take the Yes side at their word that marriage helps strengthen that bond. You want to weaken that bond by barring an entire class of parents from the institution of marriage, and that's harming, not helping, children. Oh, and you evaded my previous question. Ratings |
The Majority Vote
Which political dilettante/ex-corporate CEO with a non-existent voting record and ethical issues is more likely to disappoint in November?
BlogTalkRadio
 Latest Comments
|
|
Prop 8: Mormon Influence on Yes Campaign Now a National Story
Posted by: Jed Merrill on October 23, 2008I am very proud to stand with the Church on this issue. In my mind it is the gay movement that is seeking to blur the line between civil rights and morality.
The Church has every right to speak on moral issues.
I am disappointed that in this article you pit one Church against another. I very much doubt that every Unitarian, Episcopalian, and member of the United Church of Christ is proud of gay marriage. It is a significant deviation from basic morality. I refuse to have my conscience dulled and that of my children, let alone the definition of marriage as established by God, to make a few people happy.
If God didn't make the pattern of marriage clear enough when he married Adam and Eve, he certainly displayed his distaste for a gay society when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Historians also contend that the downfall of the Greek and Roman Empires started with a similar decline in morality.
I think the Church is concerned, among other things, that eventually the laws of the United States might require Mormons to allows gays to marry in their temples, which would make a complete mockery of God's plan and promises.
I am proud to stand for something that I value above nearly all else, the preservation of traditional marriage.
Finally, why do gay people demand to be given rights as a separate class when they already have the rights that matter as part of the human class?
I would sooner take away the right of judges to marry (which is questionable) than give gay people alternative marriage that dilutes the entire institution.
#