Gay marriage activists protest Mormons online, in streets

c. 2008 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Angered by last week’s passage of Proposition 8 that reversed California’s same-sex marriage ruling, gay rights activists have taken their battle to the blogosphere and to the streets, targeting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for encouraging Mormons to bankroll the Yes on 8 […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Angered by last week’s passage of Proposition 8 that reversed California’s same-sex marriage ruling, gay rights activists have taken their battle to the blogosphere and to the streets, targeting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for encouraging Mormons to bankroll the Yes on 8 campaign. As gay groups mount a court challenge to Proposition 8, the anger over its passage has taken the form of clashes and protests outside Mormon temples from Los Angeles to New York, and non-Mormons have rushed to defend the church from what they call bigoted attacks. Despite heavy support for Prop 8 from the Mormon hierarchy, Mormons make up less than 2 percent of California’s population. According to exit polls, most of the 52 percent of California voters who approved Prop. 8 were white evangelical Christians, Catholics or African-Americans. Nevertheless, numerous Web sites venting anger over Prop 8 have focused on Mormons, arguing their church violated its tax-exempt status by urging its national membership to contribute to California’s “Yes” campaign. According to Mormonsfor8.com, a Web site founded by Utah attorney Nadine Hansen to match campaign records to church membership rosters, about half of the $36 million raised by the Yes on 8 campaign came from Mormons _ a figure the Yes on 8 campaign has neither confirmed nor denied. `’Their members put the lion’s share of the money into it,” said Ron Oliver, 48, of Palm Springs, Calif., who launched a “Mormons Stole Our Rights” Facebook page last week. “On a fundamental level _ and I don’t use that pun lightly _ they continually say they’re for goodness and wholesomeness and love, and it strikes me that it’s a tad hypocritical that it’s `except if you’re this,’ or `except if you’re that.”’ Oliver admits getting the Mormons’ tax-free status revoked is a long shot _ churches are allowed to lobby on social issues, and are only prohibited from endorsing individual candidates _ but argues that the larger principle of separation of church and state warrants further discussion. In response to the online petitions and protests outside Latter-day Saints temples and church meetinghouses in California and other states, Roman Catholic Bishop William K. Weigand of Sacramento, a former Bishop of Salt Lake City, said the Protect Marriage coalition behind Prop. 8 included Catholics, Jews, and a range of other faiths and ethnicities. `’Bigoted attacks on Mormons for the part they played in our coalition are shameful and ignore the reality that Mormon voters were only a small part of the groundswell that supported Proposition 8,” he said in a statement. Mormon bloggers have also hastened to defend themselves, arguing that they have the same rights as any other American citizens to volunteer, vote and give money to a political campaign. Carlos Morgan, 18, who lives in Utah, launched his own Facebook page, “Aftermath: The TRUTH About Proposition 8,” a few days after Oliver. He didn’t vote in California or give money to the campaign, but he said he felt compelled to present the Mormon point of view. The money raised by the Yes on 8 campaign may have disproportionately come from Mormons, but the Yes on 8 side was still outspent by $2 million. Furthermore, he added, Mormon donors weren’t doing anything illegal by giving money to a campaign, even from other states. `’It’s a democratic right, it’s freedom of speech,” he said. “It’s something completely up to them, if they want to do that.” While gay activists said they were upset by commercials funded by the Protect Marriage coalition, which showed young children forced to learn about same-sex marriage in school, Morgan said he and other Mormons were deeply offended by a “No” commercial that depicted Mormon missionaries barging into a lesbian couple’s house and tearing up their marriage certificate. Angela Rockwood, a 32-year-old devout Mormon who lives in southern California, launched “Beetle Blogger” two months ago, as a way to counter the criticism she heard from opponents of Prop. 8. As someone who campaigned for and gave money to the “Yes” campaign, she said she views the post-election protests as ranging from “sour grapes” to outright persecution. `’Churches have always spoken out on moral issues, they have not only the right to do so, but the responsibility to do so,” she said. “Singling the LDS church out from the rest of the coalition is just a means of intimidation in a hope that the LDS church will somehow change its stand on the issue of the importance of marriage. It’ll never happen.” (OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS) The protests have spread from California throughout the country. On Wednesday night, thousands of demonstrators brought traffic to a stop in a rally outside the Mormon temple in midtown Manhattan. Among the marchers was entertainer Whoopi Goldberg. Among the crowd chanting “2-4-6-8, Separate the church and state,” and smiling at the baby strollers decorated with signs like “I love my married mommies,” Goldberg said she felt Mormon leaders should not have used religious beliefs to encourage members to contribute to a legal issue. `’If it’s against your religion, I understand that _ then, you should not marry a gay person,” she said, as she walked down Broadway. “But, if you really separate church and state, then your religious beliefs should not interfere with (a gay couple’s) ability to be married.” KRE/DAS END NEROULIAS

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A photo of the anti-Mormon protest in New York is available via https://religionnews.com


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