In this morning’s paper, the following article headline in the Everett Herald caught my eye: “Gay activists plan boycott of skiing, festivals in Utah.” The article opened with the following sentence: “Utah’s growing tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival are being targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking to punish the Mormon church for its aggressive promotion of California’s ban on gay marriage.” John Aravosis, who is described as a “blogger and gay rights activist,” is quoted as saying, “At this point, honestly, we’re going to destroy the Utah brand. It is a hate state.”
(Note to John Aravosis: There are a lot of non-Mormons in Utah. In 2004, roughly 62% of the population consisted of church members, although, according to Professor Tim Heaton of BYU, between one-third and one-half of those people are not active in the faith. That would imply that the majority of Utahns are not active members of the LDS Church.)
Now the facts are that, according to polling data, the majority of whites in California voted against Proposition 8. On the other hand, African-Americans, who turned out in record numbers to vote for Barak Obama, overwhelmingly favored Proposition 8 (69% Yes). Arguably, had that not been the case, the measure would have failed. So why go after the Mormons? Could it be because they actually had the audacity to publicly oppose gay marriage on moral grounds?
Here is the real story of Proposition 8, according to an exit poll done by Edison Media Research:
- 64% of Catholics voted yes (without regard to race)
- 65% of Protestants voted yes
- 84% of weekly churchgoers voted yes
- 54% of occasional churchgoers voted no
- 83% of people who have never been to church voted no
- 90% of non-religious voted no
Seems pretty obvious to me that there is a high correlation between people of faith and people who want to preserve the traditional definition of marriage, even in the State of California. I think it’s fair to conclude that it’s a moral issue with most of them. And if there’s one thing that liberals in general, and gays in particular, cannot stand, it’s people who make moral judgments about behavior. It is axiomatic with them that there is no absolute standard of right and wrong.
But the LDS Church, which considers the sanctity of the traditional family unit to be a cornerstone of its faith, urged its members to support Proposition 8, and its members responded. By their own statistics, LDS Church members make up approximately 2% of the population of the State of California. (Bear in mind that’s what the church membership records show, although, just as in Utah, it’s likely that some portion of that number are not active in the faith.) Their financial contributions to the campaign, however, were disproportionately higher – a lot higher – than their population. Now it must be stressed that these contributions came from church members individually, not from the church itself, and that they have every right to do whatever they want to do with their money, within the constraints of whatever election laws may apply. But by so doing, they made themselves an easy target.
In the days before the election, the opponents of Proposition 8 ran one of the most despicable television ads I have ever seen, and I’ve seen some pretty disgusting ones. If you’re curious, you can probably still find it on YouTube. It shows two young men, who are obviously intended to portray Mormon missionaries, knocking at the door of a married lesbian couple's home. When they answer the door, one young man says, “Hi, we’re from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” His partner adds, “We’re here to take away your rights.” The two then force their way into the home, take the wedding bands from the women’s fingers, and go through the place, rummaging through drawers and personal effects until they find their marriage license, which they then tear in half. The text overlay as the two are leaving the house, congratulating one another on how easy it was and wondering what they should ban next, says, “Say NO to a Church taking over your government.”
Two days after the election, more than a thousand protesters (according to an LA Times article) gathered at the LDS Temple in Westwood, CA. Carrying signs that said things like “End Hate,” they screamed epithets at the half-dozen or so men who were visible through the gates. Apparently they couldn't see the irony of their actions.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will state for the record that I am not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but I am proud to claim many of them as my close friends, and I’ve been married to one for 23 years. Like any group of human beings, they are imperfect. If you look hard enough, you will find those whose lives are not consistent with their stated beliefs. This is a trait they share with most of mankind. But I can state unequivocally that they are not “haters,” unless by “hater” you mean “people who believe there is an absolute standard of right and wrong, are not willing to concede that all systems of belief are morally equal, and are willing to put their money where their faith is.”
Apparently, for many gay activists, that is their definition of “hater,” and “haters” must be destroyed – along with the entire State of Utah. Which begs the obvious question: Who are the real haters here?
Thanks for listening.
P.S.: To my LDS friends: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” – Matthew 5:11 & 12.
No comments:
Post a Comment