I am deeply saddened by all the violence and hatred that is being shown to the church that I so dearly love. As we are all aware prop 8 passed last Tuesday. Since it's passing I have heard story after story of acts of hate and vandalism that have taken place by "No on prop 8ers". They are viciously attacking the LDS church as if , in their minds, it was all the churches "fault" prop 8 passed.
Last week a commercial aired on TV that showed two LDS missionaries rip wedding rings of the hands of a lesbian couple, ransack their house and tear up their marriage certificate. I'm sorry, but anyone with half a brain cell, LDS or not, should know that could not be further from the truth. Next, hundreds gather outside a LDS temple screaming "bigot" and other hateful things to members as they enter. Yesterday, the leader of a group looking to over turn Prop. 8 said for every 5.00 donated a hateful and graphic post card would be sent to the profit of the LDS church. Really, the list of things go on, I'm not going to name them all. But I will say, the thing that hit closest to home was yesterday when I heard the church building on the corner of Hazel and Cherry Ave., that I grew up in, was vandalized. The whole building, signs and even the sidewalk surrounding was spray painted on.
These "No on prop 8ers" claim that the passing of prop 8 was hateful and discriminatory, but is this not how they are treating the LDS church now? They are trying to fight what they call "hate" with hate? Hmmm, brilliant guys!
Please folks before you go around acting like a blubbering buffoon get the facts.
The Facts:
1. Mormons make up less than 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total population of approximately 34 million.
2. Mormon voters were less than 5% of the yes vote. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6% of the Yes vote and 2.4% of the total Proposition 8 vote.
3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated no money to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like donating.
4. The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the country.
5. Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is supported.
6. The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in favor of Yes on 8.
7. African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.
8. The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).
9. The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims - all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.
10. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.
11. The Church did not violate the principal of separation of church and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in recent years. The LDS Church is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process, to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that Churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church has always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.
12. Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do - we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted.
I sincerely hope that these people that are acting out in such a lewd, childish way can gain some common sense and some respect for their fellow Americans and the great country that we live in, where we have the honor and blessing of a democracy in which the people get to have a say. We are Americans and have a right to vote on propositions. What a blessing. Lets stop the hate.
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Flapper Sara
