I've always said that you can NOT judge a group of people by a few ignorant losers. I have also said that I have never felt that a gay couple should be denied the CIVIL right to be married and certainly not the legal rights any couple enjoy. I didn't have to vote on Prop 8 yet many people in the gay community are doing exactly what they have fought against for decades. Denying members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints the RIGHT TO CHOOSE. No one told us we had to vote yes on Prop 8. We were reminded in church that the issue was something that would be voted on in California. There was an invitation to help with time and/or money with the campaign for Prop 8.
This is the letter that was read to us in church:
California and Same-Sex MarriageSALT LAKE CITY 30 June 2008 The following letter was sent from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Church leaders in California to be read to all congregations on 29 June 2008:
Preserving Traditional Marriage and Strengthening Families
In March 2000 California voters overwhelmingly approved a state law providing that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” The California Supreme Court recently reversed this vote of the people. On November 4, 2 008, Californians will vote on a proposed amendment to the California state constitution that will now restore the March 2000 definition of marriage approved by the voters.
The Church’s teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan for His children. Children are entitled to be born within this bond of marriage.
A broad-based coalition of churches and other organizations placed the proposed amendment on the ballot. The Church will participate with this coalition in seeking its passage. Local Church leaders will provide information about how you may become involved in this important cause.
We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman. Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage.
We are not asked how we vote. We are not asked to confess as if our vote is a sin. We weren't even told HOW to vote. We are free agents and to boycott the entire church or the state of Utah is just juvenile and pointless. Among the newer temper tantrums is that this anti Mormon movement wants to deny the Mormon church rights to Hollywood and Broadway material, even some of the music that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings.
Well if we are going to play this stupid yet dangerous McCarthite Blacklisting game, stop and think of what YOU will lose:
Twilight (books and movies) Stephanie Meyer's is Mormon.
Dancing With the Stars- Julianne and Derek Hough... Mormon.
The Dark Knight or anything with Aaron Eckhart...Mormon
Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre (Although not sure that that is much of a sacrifice)
CNN-Glenn Beck >spit<
American Idol, Survivor, Real World, and countless other reality shows that have had Mormons on them. More notably David Archuleta, Brooke White, Neleh Dennis and Todd Herzog (Winner Survivor China. He's gay AND Mormon!! Bet that one hurts your heads
Sports are going to mostly be off-limits
The Olympics too.
Books by Orson Scott Card
You are going to want to check out any surgical or medical work done because there are Mormon fingerprints ALL OVER stuff like artificial heart transplants, even cosmetic surgery.
Also avoid the following companies:
Affiliated Computer Services
AES Corp.
Avista Corp.
American Express
Black & Decker
Cadence Design
Corvis
Central Pacific Bank
1-800-Contacts
Cygnus Inc.
Diebold
Dell Computer
Dionex
Downey Savings and Loan
EarthShell
Franklin Covey
Hillenbrand Industries
Headwaters, Inc.
Hollywood Entertainment
Host Marriott
Iomega
Jet Blue
JP Realty
Key Corp.
Knight Transportation
K-Swiss, Inc.
La Quinta Properties, Inc.
Marriott International
Micrel Semiconductor
Micro General
Merit Medical Systems
Monaco Coach
Microsemi Corp.
Myriad Genetics
Novell
NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
NuSkin
Oil States International
Oakley
priceline.com Inc.
Phelps Dodge Corp.
Ryder Systems
SkyWest Airlines
Swift Transportation
Cornerstone REIT
Tropical Sportswear
Williams Companies, Inc.
Zions Bancorp
Also remember that President-elect Barack Obama and VP-elect Joe Biden also stated clearly that they oppose gay marriage, so perhaps You'll be needing to boycott the entire country.
OR you can realize that it's a free country and fighting hate and ignorance WITH violence, hate, and ignorance is regression.
I am closing with an article from the Chicago Tribune, by Jonah Goldberg. He says it all, and much better than I:
An ugly attack on Mormons
Aggressors in the culture war
Jonah Goldberg
December 4, 2008
Did you catch the political ad in which two Jews ring the doorbell of a nice working-class family? They barge in and rifle through the wife's purse and then the man's wallet for cash. Cackling, they smash the daughter's piggy bank and pinch every penny. "We need it for the Wall Street bailout!" they exclaim.
No? Maybe you saw the one with the two swarthy Muslims who knock on the door of a nice Jewish family and then blow themselves up?
No? Well, then surely you saw the TV ad in which two smarmy Mormon missionaries knock on the door of an attractive lesbian couple. "Hi, we're from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!" says the blond one with a toothy smile. "We're here to take away your rights." The Mormon zealots yank the couple's wedding rings from their fingers and then tear up their marriage license.
As the thugs leave, one says to the other, "That was too easy." His smirking comrade replies, "Yeah, what should we ban next?" The voice-over implores viewers: "Say no to a church taking over your government."
Obviously, the first two ads are fictional because no one would dare run such anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim attacks.
The third ad, however, was real. It was broadcast throughout California on Election Day as part of the effort to rally opposition to Proposition 8, the initiative that successfully repealed the right to same-sex marriage in the state.
What was the reaction to the ad? Widespread condemnation? Scorn? Rebuke? Tepid criticism?
Nope.
The Los Angeles Times, a principled opponent of Proposition 8, ran an editorial lamenting that the "hard-hitting commercial" was too little, too late.
The upshot seemed to be that if the pro-gay-marriage forces had just flooded the airwaves with more religious slander, things would have turned out better.
At a pro-gay-marriage rally in Los Angeles after the vote, chants of "Mormon scum!" were reported. Envelopes containing white powder have been sent to Mormon temples in California and Utah; vandals hit other temples. Lists of businesses to boycott—essentially Mormon blacklists—have sprung up on the Internet. The artistic director of the California Musical Theatre resigned because of pressure after it was revealed he gave $1,000 to a pro-Proposition 8 group.
It's amazing. Hollywood liberals, who usually shout "McCarthyism!" as a first resort, see nothing wrong with this. If Jews were attacked in this way for giving too much money to a political cause, Barbra Streisand would already have a French passport.
Never mind that Proposition 8 carried nearly every demographic slice of voters. Put aside the fact that the Catholic Church and scores of other Christian churches supported it too. Discount the inconvenient truth that bans on gay marriage have now passed in each of the 30 states in which they've been put before voters. It's all the Mormons' fault.
The argument is that Mormons used illegitimate power, in this case money, beyond their numerical standing in the population to secure victory for the measure. Golly, wealthy gay liberals would never do anything like that! I bet they're not giving a single dime—disproportionate to their numbers in the population—to the effort to overturn Proposition 8 via the courts.
No, it's just that Mormons are the most vulnerable of the culturally conservative religious denominations and therefore the easiest targets for an organized campaign against religious freedom of conscience.
Traditional religion is the enemy anywhere it runs afoul of complete social acceptance of homosexuality. In New Mexico, a wedding photographer was fined nearly $7,000 for refusing to shoot a gay commitment ceremony. The dating site eHarmony, run by evangelicals, was just bullied by gay activists via the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights into starting up a site for gays. The first 10,000 registrants must get six months free.
It's often lost on gay-rights groups that they and their allies are the aggressors in the culture war. Indeed, they admit to being the "forces of change" and the "agents of progress." They proudly want to rewrite tradition and overturn laws. But whenever they're challenged democratically and peaceably, they instantly complain of being victims of entrenched bigots, even as they adopt the very tactics they abhor.
My own view is that gay marriage is likely inevitable and won't be nearly the disaster many of my fellow conservatives fear it will be. But the scorched-earth campaign to victory pushed by gay-marriage advocates may well be disastrous, and "liberals" should be ashamed for countenancing it.
Jonah Goldberg is an editor at National Review Online.
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