Mormons come under review and across the Country begin to loose membership over prop 8 support. Prop 8 to be reviewed by the Court in March 2009.

Information in the introduction below is taken from an excerpts of the second and fourth articles cited below. But first here is some coverage from earlier this month by Actor and Model David Moretti, currently known for amongst other things for his serial performance as Reporter Thom Etherton on HERE! TV vampqueer thriller The Lair, which is in its third season of production.



In the last several months before the November election over 18,000 same-sex couples have married since the California Supreme Court struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage. When Prop 8 passed it did not invalidate those marriages but restricted the ability for any further celebrations of civil unions by same sex partners in the State.

The Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, boasts of a membership topping thirteen million and a missionary force of over five hundred thousand. They donated nearly half, up to $25 million by some estimates, raised by Yes on 8, (in California) canvassed neighborhoods and staffed phone banks. ... Mormons are "uniquely situated to be mobilized into politics," said David Campbell, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California officials will investigate whether the Mormon church accurately described its role in a campaign to ban gay marriage in the state. The California Fair Political Practices Commission said Monday that a complaint by a gay rights group merits further inquiry. Executive director Roman Porter says the decision does not mean any wrongdoing has been determined. Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8. A representative from the Salt Lake City-based church could not be reached for comment.
(Source: Google News)

For the sake of full disclosure and unbiased reporting, here is another full story on the same report courtesy of Jessica Ravitz of the Salt Lake Tribune.

What were you thinking?

Peggy Fletcher Stack, last week, recounted the stories told to her, about the aftermath of the Prop 8 support by the CJCLDS, from the Prince family of Wahington D.C.:

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."
(Source: Salt Lake Tribune)

Prop 8 Strategy Plan originated back in 1997

(Salt Lake City, Utah) The Church of Latter Day Saints began putting together a game plan 10 years ago to ensure same-sex marriage would not become legal, a internal church memo shows. The document, obtained by Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX, was sent by a member of the LDS General Authority to a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, the church’s governing body.

Dated March 4, 1997, the memo mentions a meeting with Gordon B. Hinckley, who was then President of the Church, and quotes Hinckley as saying the Mormons need to “move ahead” with the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. Hinckley, according to the 11-year old document, suggests joining forces with the Roman Catholic Church. “The public image of the Catholic Church is higher than our Church. In other words, if we get into this, they are the ones with which to join,” the memo quotes him as saying. He also warned in the memo that the Church should not be seen as the lead instigator in the fight against gay marriage.

[...2.5ip....]

In Utah, the Mormon Church says that eight of its temples have been vandalized since the passage of Prop 8 in California.... LGBT rights groups have appealed the outcome of the vote to the state Supreme Court, arguing the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone, by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. The groups in their petition to the court also say that Proposition 8 improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities.
(Source: unknown origin received text through email)

California Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments for the repeal of Prop 8.

The California Supreme Court today denied requests to stay the enforcement or implementation of Proposition 8, and at the same time agreed to decide several issues arising out of the passage of Proposition 8. The court's order, issued in the first three cases that had been filed directly in the state's highest court challenging the validity of Proposition 8, directed the parties to brief and argue three issues:

(1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?
(2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?
(3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?

The court issued its order in three cases filed on behalf of a variety of parties, including same-sex couples who seek to enter into marriage despite the passage of Proposition 8, a same-sex couple who married in California prior to the adoption of Proposition 8, and a number of cities and counties whose officials seek to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Petitioners in each of these cases seek an order directing the relevant state officials to refrain from implementing, enforcing, or applying Proposition 8. In response to the petitions, the Attorney General filed a preliminary opposition, in which he urged the court to assume jurisdiction over these cases to decide the important legal issues presented, but also argued that the court should not stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court's resolution of the issues. The proponents of Proposition 8 also responded to the petitions, seeking to intervene as formal parties in the action and also urging the court to accept the cases for decision.

The court's order granted the motion to intervene filed by the proponents of Proposition 8. In its order, the court established an expedited briefing schedule, under which briefing will be completed in January 2009 and oral argument potentially could be held as early as March 2009. Six justices — Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Justice Marvin R. Baxter, Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar, Justice Ming W. Chin, Justice Carlos R. Moreno, and Justice Carol A. Corrigan — signed the court's order, although Justice Moreno indicated that he would grant the requests to stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court's resolution of these matters. Justice Joyce L. Kennard would deny these petitions without prejudice to the filing in the Supreme Court of an appropriate action to determine Proposition 8's effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before Proposition 8's adoption.
(Source: Chris Johnson Human Rights Campaign)

On the top of this page you will find a banner for the next collective action on the 10th of December 2008 by the Our Community in solidarity with our siblings in California, Arizona, and Florida, with the theme "A Day Without A Gay" where the San Diego, California based group Equality Action Now is asking all Gays and our allies to strike for one day. There are several other actions planned over the course of the next couple of months. If you know of any other initiatives or actions please email me details or look on the Disclaimers Page for contact information. Here is the short list, with links when available:

Today Equality Food Drive | Dec 10 Day Without A Gay National Strike |
Dec 20 Light The Night Vigil | Jan 10 DOMA National Protest |
Continuing Actions: Postcard To The President |