Gay Marriage Advocates Protest LDS in Mesa

Advocates for equal right of all citizens, including gay marriage, were out in force when Mormons lit their massive Christmas displays at their temple in Mesa, Arizona.

The Mormon opposition to same-sex marriage and the passage of state constitutional amendments banning gay marriage in Arizona, California and Florida in the Nov. 4 election has spurred several protest against the LDS Church. Now, ironically enough, those who support inequality for gay persons are saying the demonstrations held by equal rights activist are a product of hate and bigotry. This from a church who urged members to donate money and vote for the gay marriage bans which strips equal rights from a minority group.

According to gay Mormon and protest organizer Bobby Parker,

”They’re shining their light, we’re shining ours.”

California Agency to Investigate LDS Church

Officials in California have announced they will investigate the Mormon church and whether or not they accurately described their participation in the campaign to promote Proposition 8, which placed a ban gay marriage.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission stated Monday that complaints filed by gay rights groups merits further inquiry.

Roman Porter, the executive director of the commission stated the decision to investigate does not mean any wrongdoing has been determined, but an investigation is has been warranted.

Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger has accused the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8.

It is highly likely the LDS church has broken the IRS rules for a tax-exempt organization.

LDS Church in Hot Water Over Gay Marriage

A memo that was leaked back in June which outlined the decision by Mormon Church to use resources and staff to support California’s Proposition 8, may end up costing the cult much more than the $20 million it spent on the ballot initiative.

The last time the Mormon Church attempted to publicly influence politics in America was when Jimmy Carter was President. President Carter told the church unless they ceased actively supporting segregation, they would have to start paying taxes like any other association who incorporate white pride and politics into their religious outreach. Lo and behold the Prophet who leads the latter day saints, got a revelation and within weeks the church lifted internal restrictions on black members and stopped the overt flow of money to the more racist third world dictators.

This is a “church” who used to say people of color were “evil” and “their color was a punishment from God”.

So, as history tends to repeat itself, here again we have a “church” using the ultimate authority to dictate discrimination against a minority group and excusing their hate and bigotry with the Bible and tax exempt status.

Write your congressman today…and tell them…TAX the LDS!

Prop 8 Has Become a PR Nightmare for LDS

From the SLTrib:

Although they live a continent away from California, LDS Church members Gregory and JaLynn Prince, of Washington, D.C., still have felt the backlash from their church’s involvement in the traditional marriage initiative known as Proposition 8.

Their daughter, Lauren, a Boston University student, has lost friends over the issue, while their son, an LDS missionary in San Bernardino, Calif., has had a disproportionate number of potential converts cancel appointments.

About two weeks ago, during a first-ever class on Mormonism at Wesley Theological Seminary, where the Princes have built bridges for years, students pointedly asked them: “What was your church thinking?”

“We are not taking sides on the issue, but the way this was done has hurt our people and the church’s image,” JaLynn Prince said. “It reminds me of the naive public relations strategy we had regarding the Equal Rights Amendment.”

In some minds, the so-called “Mormon moment” heralded at the start of 2008 has stopped short.

Read the entire story by clicking here.

Utah Sentate Introduces Common Ground Initiative

Today, the first of a series of six bills proposed by Democratic lawmakers and endorsed by gay-rights groups goes before the Utah Senate Judiciary Interim Committee. The lead-off bill, if passed, would permit someone to name an unmarried partner as a designee in wrongful death cases.

Combined, the bills make up the what’s being called the Common Ground Initiative. The initiative also includes proposals that would create a statewide domestic-partner registry, provide health benefits for gay couples and partial repeal of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

The initiative is a bold move in a state where the Republican-dominated Legislature has fought to ban gay student clubs, prevented gay couples from adopting and barred any domestic unions that would give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

The movement takes its cue from remarks by the LDS Church in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, California’s measure to ban same-sex-marriage. The church, which pushed the ballot measure but did not oppose California’s domestic-partner registry, stated it “does not object” to rights for gay couples regarding health care, probate, fair housing and employment.

“The planets are aligned,” said Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, who will sponsor laws to protect LGBT people from being fired or evicted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

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