Video Sunday : Straight, Mormon, Equaltiy supporter

Are we winning because the Mormons left the game?

Mother Jones reminds us that the Mormons were active against marriage from the get go, but have gone strangely silent of late, both in institutional and individual activism against equality. So we are winning more.

But there's one force, perhaps greater than any other, that shouldn't be underestimated: theMormon church's political surrender on gay marriage. 

It's remarkable what has happened in the marriage fight since the Mormons decided to abandon it. Consider that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the single biggest funder and organizer of the 2008 campaign to pass California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in one of America's most liberal states. The church is estimated to have directed at least $20 million to that effort, along with significant organizing clout. Documents unearthed by activist Fred Karger showed that the Mormons had 77 people working full time at the church's Salt Lake City headquarters to get Prop. 8 passed... 

...But after the Mormon involvement in Prop. 8 was fully exposed, the backlash was severe—and apparently unexpected. .. 

...Last year in Maryland, the church even went so far as to squelch an effort by some Mormons to organize against a pro-marriage initiative on the state ballot. The loss of the church as an ally has been a huge blow to foes of gay marriage, especially given its ability to deploy a host of motivated volunteers....

If the Mormons continue to stay home with their checkbooks closed, then we may just win this thing. In contrast with the march-in-lockstep Mormons, while the Catholic Bishops are against us, most Catholics are on our side. It's only a narrow fringe of conservative Catholics that are the opponents (and who make up NOM and the Knights of Columbus).

WIll Mormons change towards gays? Don't count on it

Part 2 following from last week: an ex Mormon considers his former church.

[Mromon theology states] God loves all his children equally, therefore all must be capable of the heterosexual marriage required for the highest rewards, therefore homosexuality is not divinely created or approved, therefore it must be a mistake or a temptation to be fixed or resisted, at the peril of losing one’s eternal reward. Gay people “suffer” and “struggle.” They are not whole.

This is how most Mormons interpret their scriptures, and this is why it will be nearly impossible for the Mormon church to accept gay people with full equality without abandoning its own theology.

In the past, gay Mormons were excommunicated just for coming out. Now, policy is that it’s OK to be gay, but one must never “act on it.” ....The church defends its ban on gay sex as consistent with “one standard of morality” for everyone, namely, no sex outside marriage. This disingenuously ignores the fact that straight single Mormons always have hope of finding “the one,” but a faithful gay Mormon does not. Their church demands that they remain single, celibate, and lonely throughout their lives; if they do, they’re told God will “fix” them and later on give them every blessing they didn’t have in this life.

But to a growing number of people like myself, raised Mormon but proud of being gay, this is no incentive at all. We should live a cold, lonely life, with the “heavenly” reward of being turned into something we never wanted to be anyway? No thanks. We’ve realized that, given the way the Mormon church has framed this issue and painted itself into a doctrinal corner, there was no reconciling the church and its demands with a happy life and the chance for the kind of love God intended for us. Nor do we think the Mormon church either trustworthy on these issues or capable of reforming itself to achieve true equality.

Increasing understanding is fine, but the only thing that will stem this tide is a theological re-write so monumental that it could fracture the church. I think the leadership will play to their base, choose doctrinal consistency, and accept the ongoing loss of all the talent and devotion gay members could otherwise contribute. There just aren’t enough gay Mormons to force them to do otherwise.



I’m grateful for much in my Mormon upbringing. I wish my Mormon friends well. My path lies elsewhere, with new faith, new friends, new family. It’s been better than I could ever have imagined.

What to expect from a Mormon President

A former Mormon describes the LDS views of sexuality--why you don't want Mitt Romney as President.

This is also why the “equal civil rights” argument and the “it doesn’t harm your marriage” argument don’t work for most Mormons. Since they believe marriage is not just divinely designed for social order but eternally essential, most Mormons see marriage equality not as a matter of civil rights but of unchangeable principle, and they truly believe society and future generations will be harmed by “legitimizing” a “lifestyle alternative” that they think diverts people from God’s approved path. It’s therefore a moral issue to them, one of presumptuous humans daring to redefine and thus ruin a divine institution. Mormon church presidents have spoken against this, and for the faithful, that’s the same as God speaking. End of discussion. ... 

Mormonism is not just a religion, it’s a culture, a worldview. That outlook must inevitably influence Mormons’ political beliefs. And while not all Mormons see things the same way politically, most American Mormons tend to. Romney represents that majority. His record on LGBT issues is actually one of moving away from equality and toward discrimination. ... 

Mormon leaders are hypersensitive to the church’s public image. They know the public outcry that would result if they even seemed to try to influence Romney. They’ll avoid any appearance of meddling. Any Mormon influence in a Romney presidency and any potential threat to separation of church and state will result not from Mormon church action but from how Romney tries to translate his own church-influenced beliefs into public policy.

The real reason the LDS supported Prop8

A student at BYU wrote a piece for the school paper about Prop 8.

The way Cary Crall tells the story, his letter was first rejected, then turned into a full blown "guest" editorial, published, and then quickly removed from the newspaper's website and labeled, "offensive."

Crall wrote that Mormons ought to be honest about the real reasons they put so much time, money and effort into passage of prop 8. After reading the decision of the federal judge in the prop 8 case, he concluded there is little rational basis for many of the arguments for prop 8. So if such arguments were not the real reasons for their support, then what? "The real reason," he wrote, "is that a man who most of us believe is a prophet of God told us to support the amendment."

Crall read the Prop8 decision by Judge Vaughan Walker, and realized that all the talking points used in the election were not supported in trial. So, he comments, the Mormons should be honest that their reason to oppose marriage equality is fundamentally a religious one.

You can read his entire editorial here (.doc file). But here's the conclusion, that got it censored as "offensive":

The question remains that if proponents of Prop. 8 were both unwilling and unable to support even one rational argument in favor of the amendment in court, why did they seek to present their arguments as rational during the campaign?

It is time for LDS supporters of Prop. 8 to be honest about their reasons for supporting the amendment. It’s not about adoption rights, or the first amendment or tradition. These arguments were not found worthy of the standards for finding facts set up by our judicial system. The real reason is that a man who most of us believe is a prophet of God told us to support the amendment. We must accept this explanation, along with all its consequences for good or ill on our own relationship with God and his children here on earth.

Smart young man.

The film, 8, The Mormon Proposition, opens today (video)

From the NY Times review:

The documentary is really two films roughly stitched together. The first two-thirds tells the history of Proposition 8; the final third is a wrenching exploration of the effects on gay Mormons of the church’s strict taboo on homosexuality. We meet gay teenagers who were exiled from their families and are told about a rash of suicides at Brigham Young University. The reason Utah’s suicide rate is the highest of any state, the movie suggests, is the Mormon church’s absolute rejection of homosexuality, which one church elder calls “contrary to God’s plan.” Chris Buttars, a proudly homophobic Utah state senator, compared male coupling to bestiality. The movie shows the depth of religion-based loathing of homosexuality, like that of abortion, to be primal.

In the meantime the struggle to repeal Proposition 8 is under way.

The Mormon Proposition

A new movie exposes the Mormon backing of Prop 8: The Mormon Proposition. A direct quote: "It would be better to be dead than be homosexual".

Kissing in Utah

IS there a new sensitivity afoot? There seem to be a lot of gay folks getting arrested for exchanging a kiss.Most recently, a gay couple was arrested for kissing in front of the LDS temple. The plaza they were walking through was ceded by Salt Lake City to the LDS church, so it is private property.

According to the AP, the men say they simply kissed. The Mormon security guards claim much more:

...church officials contend their behavior was lewd.

"There was much more involved that a simple kiss of the cheek," Farah said in a statement Friday. "They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol."

Hmmm, this reminds me of the Fort Worth assault, where the police said that there was lewd behavior and groping that provoked them to slam a man into a wall, while the witnesses say there was no such thing. Because of course, you know those gay people can't keep from having sex in the streets, and "gay panic" is still an excuse. However

The men have said they were walking home from a nearby concert and cutting through the plaza on their way home.

A police report said they sat down for a kiss and were approached by a pair of church security guards, who asked them to leave because their behavior was "unwanted."Both were handcuffed and Aune was pinned to the ground.

THat doesn't sound like sex in the streets to me.

Of course on private property, the LDS has the right to regulate behavior. Even if it is a double standard that allows displays of affection between straight couples but not gay. However, throwing them to the ground seems a bit much.

So there was a kiss-in to protest, which predictably brought the counter-protesters out.

[A]bout 100 people gathered to stage a "kiss-in" to protest the treatment of two gay men cited for trespassing July 9 after they shared a kiss on the plaza owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both gay and straight couples exchanged kisses during the protest.

Demonstrators were greeted at the south entrance by a group of protesters carrying large signs that denounced homosexuality, prompting a heated verbal exchange.

Police say no one was arrested or cited, despite a large group exchanging kisses by a reflecting pool at the plaza's center.

With the eyes of the world on them, they decided not to throw them to the ground for en masse handcuffing and arrest. Good choice.

REmember, Utah is actually moving backwards on gay rights. Yay, Mormons.

Not.

So look for a kiss-in opportunity near you: GLBT and straight allies, all are welcome to pucker up.

Update San Diego had a kiss in at the Mormon temple on Weds.