I just received this from this facebook group:Subject: Open Letter to the Brave LDS Supporters of Marriage Equality
Dear Utahns for Marriage Equality,
This is an open letter to the brave LDS supporters of marriage equality in this group and elsewhere. First of all, all of us need to commend your willingness to listen to your conscience on this issue. We all understand the social pressures that you may feel to follow a different path. No doubt you have heard plenty of anti-LDS rhetoric recently and you will certainly hear more. Emotions are running high right now. But this letter is not an apology for the stance against the LDS Church nor is it a defense against the haters of the LDS faith. This letter is a response to the question many of you are asking the question:” Why target the Mormons? “
"Why target the Mormons?" was also the gist of the LDS Church press release in response to the Salt Lake City protest and those protests in California. This is not an attack on the sacredness of the LDS faith. The issue is with the intensity with which the institution of the LDS Church supported Prop 8 by calling on their members to canvass in California, donate money and participate in phone banks. Moreover, under a loophole in IRS non-profit law (that Scott McCoy explained to me), religious organizations can throw their weight behind a ballot initiative. But if they are to throw their weight to take away rights, then it is our responsibility to protest to keep those rights.
Look, I grew up Catholic and I am not proud of the Catholic Church’s statements but the bottom line is that we are not asking the LDS or the Catholic church (or any church for that matter) to perform same-sex marriages. We are simply asking that they stay clear of the inalienable rights of others who wish to marry. With that being said, I would like to pass along the thoughts of a few others on this topic:
>From Andrew Sullivan (Atlantic Magazine,
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com%2F%29%3A"The leadership of the LDS church has every right to do this; but equally gay people and their families now have every right to highlight the Mormon church as an enemy of civil rights and of gay people everywhere. This will be decried as bigotry. But gays are not fighting to remove the civil rights of Mormons; while Mormons have successfully campaigned to remove the civil rights of gays.
Tolerant and inclusive Mormons should not be forgotten; the Mormon tradition of church-state separation should not be ignored either. But toleration goes both ways. Gay people have every right to regard the Mormon church hierarchy as a mortal enemy. If they knock on my door any time soon, they will get an earful."
>From Eric Ethington (a local blogger and regular contributor to our FB group,
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://ethingtoneric.wordpress.com%2F)
“I just wanted to make one or two comments to your very good question. The LDS church IS being targeted very heavily by the anti-Prop 8 movement. And although I agree with you that other churches and members of the traditional family coalitions should be receiving these protests as well, there is a very good reason that it has started with the LDS church. First, the LDS church donated more money than any other organization to the passing of these laws (off the top of my head I believe it was a little over 30% of the total donations). Second, it has been widely publicized that without the overwhelming physical support of the church's members, spurned by the letter written by the 1st Presidency and read over every pulpit in the church; and also the Bishops and Stake Presidents in Utah who were required to push their members (mostly in the single wards) to donate up to 20 hours a week calling Californian residents. The third reason I suppose is that although the LDS church has been
involved in politics in the past, it has largely through silent donations, they have claimed time and again that they would never openly get involved.
“The Church does not become involved in politics. We don’t favor any candidate. We don’t permit our buildings to be used for political purposes. We don’t favor any party.” - Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, Larry King Live, television program, Sept 8. 1998
I would say that these are the main reasons that the church is being targeted. Although I would suggest that it is a little foolish of any church with a history of non-traditional marriage itself to be shocked or surprised when it comes under critique for backing an anti non-traditional marriage proposition. Let me know if you have any other thoughts! You also may want to read
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://ethingtoneric.wordpress.com%21%E2%80%9DI hope this issue into perspective and if you have any more thoughts on this issue, please post them to the “Wall” or “Discussion Board” of this group page.
Regards,
MM
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