Facts About Mormons and Prop 8

A friend sent me this, and it I thought it was interesting. So I thought I'd share it here.

Due to the backlash on Prop 8 centered on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member has put together facts and statistics to show what actually happened with this vote. The anger of the No on 8 people is misdirected and inappropriate, given 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.

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.

Proposition 8

I feel that I need to write something about this Proposition 8 thing. It has been much on my mind lately. As I have been reading in the news and on the internet about protests outside of our temples in LA and Oakland I am so greatly surprised, saddened, and shocked at what I've read and seen. I feel I need to speak up for my beliefs and I hope and pray that it will come out in the spirit that it was meant. I'm not going to explain what Prop 8 is or what's been going on in detail, only my reaction to the events. But you should Google it if you don't know or read the news. Also a really great website where a lawyer who has done a lot of research explains the consequences of the Supreme Court's decision in detail. You can find it here. To understand what this measure means, I suggest you go there and read.

My church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or LDS or Mormon Church as it's known was a heavy supporter on passing Proposition 8 to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling that legalized same sex marriage in the state of California. It is our belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. And that this bond is a highly sacred one.

Now, this issue is one close to my own heart and was a very hard decision for me, until I researched more closely what it would mean for me and my family. (Again, the above link is great to help you understand.) It was hard for me because my sister is gay. And has been for more than ten years. And I love her dearly. She is one of the smartest, most generous people I know. She is thoughtful and kind. Anyone should want to be like her. And I don't fault her for her choices or her lifestyle. I refuse to judge her. I don't know what it's like to be her, but I do know our Heavenly Father loves each of us. Everyone. Whether they want to except that love or not. So it is not my place to judge those around me unfairly. As I hope I will not be unfairly judged. I hope I will not hurt her with my comments here.

Now, I don't like hurting people's feelings and I am not one to tell other people how to live their lives. I only know how I want to live mine. And if you know me you know I'd rather cut off my own finger before having a confrontation with someone. But there comes a time when you have to draw a line in the sand. And you are either on one side or the other. If I still lived in California (where I grew up until I came to Utah for college and stayed) I would have voted Yes on 8. And not because I don't respect gay and lesbian couples or because I don't think that they should get married. If it was just about marriage I might have voted No. But it was about more than that. If the Supreme Court's ruling had stayed the government would have had the right to teach in schools doctrines that are opposite to what I believe. And as a parent I would have had no right to pull my child from school during this time or have any prior notice of when these things would be taught. And if I did try, I would have been arrested.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter what these doctrines are, though you obviously know what I'm referring to. I hope you'll read more about it in the link above. But I just wanted to share a little of why I would've had to vote yes. Because more than just about marriage, this is about religious freedom. And if we are going to trade one freedom for another, then that is not progress. And this is in part why I am so gravely saddened by the reaction to the passage of Prop 8.

Now, outside our temples, which are greatly sacred to us, people are protesting and waving signs, and climbing the fences, and writing things on the outside of the buildings. An LDS LAPD officer wrote an article about what went on outside the LA temple. It is heartbreaking to me. You can read it here. But basically no one is really stopping them. I can't help but think...if we were Jewish, or Muslim, or even Catholic people being treated like this no one would stand for it. Can you imagine people vandalizing the Vatican? I just can't see it. But there are so many misconceptions about us Mormon's people find it easy to pass judgement. And find it easy to dimiss us as crazy people who "Worship Joseph Smith"(We don't. We believe him to be a Prophet and the founder of our religion, but we worship Jesus Christ and God, the Father and them alone.) Or they dismiss us as polygamists (We are not. We ended that practice 150 years ago. And no...the people on "Big Love" aren't Mormon.) The things that are going on are clearly hate crimes, yet no one cares because we are apparently "biggots", because we stood up for our beliefs.

However, we were not the only church that supported this measure. Catholics, Protestant churches and many other faiths support this belief as well and supported Prop 8 alongside us. And I feel we are being unfairly criticized and condemned as close. Just because someone doesn't believe what you do and you are upset or angry that something did not go your way does not give you the right to physically harm that person or their church or break the law. Last time I checked we as a faith have not vandalized or tried to beat up people who did not share our beliefs. (Even though an extremely slanderous commerical was shown on TV that missionaries do bust in peoples doors and take things. I guarantee that never happened and never will.) I'm not asking for gays and lesbians to stop believing what they believe or even practicing their lifestyle, that is their personal choice. I'm just asking them to allow others to have their beliefs as well.

I guess I'm just disappointed in the people in California right now. Because for all their shouting about equality and tolerance, they're not being very tolerant of us, of our faith or of our sacred places of worship. And I'm shocked that no one seems to see that. I guess I feel like a gay person would feel if they were in high school and someone wrote "faggot" or "queer" or something else worse on their locker or their car. That's not who they are inside and it's hurtful and unnecessary. Essentially that is what's happening to Mormons because we won't appologize for who we are or what we believe. People have defaced our temple and wrote "Liars" and carried signs with "Mormon Scum" or "Joseph Smith Polygamist Pedophile" written on them. All this hatred because people voted for what they believed to be true? We didn't strong arm people. Mormons didn't accompany people to the polls and make sure they voted Yes. We presented the facts. And if you know us, you'd know we wouldn't lie just to get this passed. We didn't need to. And we didn't do it out of malice or out of prejudice.

People are angry and upset and this is a very emotional issue. But this country prides itself on tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, ethnicities, religions. I didn't see that tolerance in any of the articles I've read. So are we going to trade one freedom for another? I worry for this country if we are taking steps in the direction of not allowing our people to practice their religion freely. When bad things happen, like after the Twin Towers were struck down, people seem to turn to God and say how could he have allowed this to happen to us? Well if you keep pushing him away, out of your schools, out of your homes, how can you be upset when he finally takes the hint?

All I can say is that if you're feelings have been hurt by this issue, I'm sorry. So have mine. I would never write anything on someone else's place of worship, no matter their beliefs. And I think that is the main thing that has bothered me. That essentially hate crimes have been tolerated, because those weird Mormon's aren't really people. But we have rights too. Gay people aren't the only people with rights. But if we are to be persecuted for standing up for our principles I will endure it. It is a small price to pay for what I believe. I still believe in this country and in democracy. People voted. The majority won. I'm sorry the majority has made the minority angry. But that is the beauty of democracy. Decisions are made by the people themselves. Maybe in a few years we will be overuled and a similar measure to Prop 8 will allow gay and lesbian couples to marry again. And if that day comes I will not defile their places of worship or hold signs outside the places that they hold dear. But I will pray for them and for our country.