c. 2008 Religion News ServiceGays, Mormons clash outside L.A. templeLOS ANGELES (RNS) Mormons and gay activists clashed over same-sex marriage on Thursday (Nov. 6) at the Mormon temple in Los Angeles in a skirmish that attracted about 1,000 protesters angry at the passage of California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.Los Angeles police said two demonstrators were arrested during the tense protest in front of the Mormon temple on Santa Monica Boulevard, near the gay and lesbian enclave of West Hollywood. Police said they also took witness statements about possible hate crimes from gay and lesbian protesters claiming they were assaulted by counter-demonstrators near the temple.TV news footage showed several young Pacific Islanders tearing down pro-same sex marriage signs placed on the temple ground’s fencing and also arguing with protesters. Mormon church spokesman Keith Atkinson said the Pacific Islanders’ behavior may have been “uncharacteristic of our people, but I know that emotions are running high.”Police formed a skirmish line dividing both sides, with hundreds of protesters outnumbering the handful of Mormons. No vandalism was reported, though Atkinson said some graffiti was found on the edge of temple property.Proposition 8 passed Tuesday with 52.5 percent of California voters approving a ban on same-sex marriage, effectively overturning the state Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last May that allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry. Attorneys representing gay rights groups have filed several lawsuits challenging the measure, but gay and lesbian leaders are particularly angry at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its strong support of the measure.“The majority of the donations that came to the Yes on 8 campaign came from members of the Mormon church,” said Lori Jean, executive officer of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, at a press conference.Atkinson said 40 percent of the funding in support of the measure came from Mormons but he added, “The church hasn’t given money to the campaign. These were individual members.”Mormons were particularly offended by a No-on-8 TV commercial this week that depicted two Mormon missionaries invading a lesbian couple’s home and destroying their marriage certificate. California’s Catholic bishops also denounced the TV spot as a “blatant display of religious bigotry and intolerance.”_ David FinniganPastor suspects racism in church fire hours after Obama winSPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) The pastor of a predominantly black church that was destroyed by a suspicious fire early Wednesday (Nov. 5) morning after President-elect Barack Obama’s historic win said the blaze had “every appearance of being a deliberate act or hate crime.”Upwards of 30 federal, state and local investigators from the FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Massachusetts State Police are probing the causes of the blaze. Damage was estimated at $2.5 million.The structure, which was about 90 percent complete, was fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived shortly after 3:15 a.m., said Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger.“This is big. This is huge,” said a neighbor, Michael R. Caron, who first reported the blaze. “This is like Springfield, Miss., here.”The church’s pastor, Bishop Bryant Robinson, said parishioners are “in shock and disbelief that somebody would do that. Particularly when the church is not doing any harm to anybody and trying to help people.”The suspicious fire started hours after Obama made history as the nation’s first black president-elect. “There is symmetry,” Robinson said of the joy following Obama’s win and the loss that quickly followed.Investigators stressed during a Wednesday press conference, however, that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.“(Experts) are doing a methodical investigation that has to go where it needs to go before we can have anything to say about this,” Leger said.Robinson said the church will rebuild.“Our belief in God will sustain us. … Our faith is of such quality and maturity that we will be building,” Robinson said.The fact that the building had not yet been occupied is cause for suspicion, Leger said. “Any vacant building is suspicious until proven otherwise,” he said.Robinson said in the larger scheme of things he is still “somewhat proud of the country.”“We are also mindful (that) in the fabric of our nation there are people who hate people, who are racist people, people who didn’t vote for Obama just because he was an African-American.”_ George GrahamSouth Carolina begins making “I Believe” license plates(RNS) South Carolina has announced it is ready to start making controversial “I Believe” license plates, a move that is already the subject of a lawsuit.The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles posted an announcement on its Web site that it has received enough pre-applications to begin manufacturing the plates.“Once the plates have been produced, they will be available to the public in SCDMV offices,” it says.The Hindu American Foundation and Christian and Jewish leaders sued state officials in June over the plates, which feature the words “I Believe,” a yellow Christian cross and a stained glass window. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington watchdog group, is representing them in a suit that claims the plates give preferential treatment to a particular faith.The state’s General Assembly unanimously passed legislation in May that authorized the plates. Gov. Mark Sanford allowed the bill to become law without his signature._ Adelle M. BanksQuote of the Day: Evangelist Billy Graham(RNS)”Every day is a gift from God, no matter how old we are. I have discovered that just because we grow weaker physically as we age, it doesn’t mean that we must grow weaker spiritually. In fact, we ought to be growing stronger spiritually, because our eyes ought to be on eternity and heaven _ on the things that really matter.”_ Evangelist Billy Graham, in a statement, marking his 90th birthday, which he celebrated Friday (Nov. 7).KRE/PH END RNS