Been threatened because of your religious beliefs lately?
David October 29th, 2008
I continue to be amazed at the amount of controversy that has come up because of the position of the LDS Church to support the California Proposition 8 in support of marriage. Religious organizations across California have come out in support of the proposition. What I am most surprised about is how opponents of this proposition have come out in droves to attack anyone who supports it. If you see any videos or articles on YouTube or the major news sites about Prop 8 which allow public comments, you will find that the negative comments number 20 to 1, filled with acusations of biotry and intolerance despite by the very nature of the commentators acting as with intolerance towards the religious beliefs of those who support this measure.
Respectfully disagreeing because of someone’s religious beliefs is one thing but it goes to a whole new level when you slander and directly attack is another. Like a page straight out of early Mormon persecution comes inactive LDS member Nadine Hansen (Cedar City, Utah) who created mormonsfor8.com which encourages users to identify Mormons listed from public donation sources on behalf of Proposition 8 (similar data also available at San Francisco Chronicle), or Signing For Something which solicits pro-gay users to sign a petition against Church Leaders. From the Daily Kos, a popular liberal blog,
But when the church and its members invest millions of dollars in an attempt to write discrimination into my state’s constitution and divorce my friend Brian against his will, there will be hell to pay.
So what am I asking you to do?
Some distributed research.
There is a list of a bunch of Mormon donors to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign (in case that one goes down, here’s a mirror with slightly worse formatting.
Here’s what I’m asking for:
This list contains information about those who are big donors to the Yes on 8 campaign–donors to the tune of at least $1,000 dollars. And, as you can see, there are a lot of them. It also indicates if they’re Mormon or not.
If you’re interested in defeating the religious right and preserving marriage equality, here’s how you can help:
Find us some ammo.
Use any LEGAL tool at your disposal. Use OpenSecrets to see if these donors have contributed to…shall we say…less than honorable causes, or if any one of these big donors has done something otherwise egregious. If so, we have a legitimate case to make the Yes on 8 campaign return their contributions, or face a bunch of negative publicity.
There are a crapload of donors on this list–so please focus on the larger ones first. $5,000 or more is a good threshold to start with.
Feel free to use Lexis-Nexis searches as well for anything useful, especially given that these people are using “morality” as their primary motivation to support Prop 8…if you find anything that belies that in any way…well, you know what to do.
If you find anything good, please email it to:
equalityresearch at gmail dot com.
Here’s the bottom line for me: if someone is willing to contribute thousands of dollars to a campaign to take away legal rights from some very dear friends of mine, they had damn well make sure their lives are beyond scrutiny–because I, for one, won’t take it lying down.
This one is for Brian and the millions like him all across the nation.
As a nation who prides itself on freedom, free speech, and respect of diversity, would you expect for people to actually attack others based on their religion? Ask Michele Sundstrom, 47, of San Jose, who has been married for 18 years and has five children.
She and her husband gave $30,000 to the Yes on 8 campaign and put a sign on their home. But in response, two women parked an SUV in front of their home, with the words "Bigots live here" painted on the windshield.
No surprise that you can’t quite comprehend the fundamental action you’re taking: taking people’s rights. Whether you think the supreme court was justified in upholding the constitution just as it had done with inter-racial marriage or not is irrelevant. Prop 8 is about ELIMINATING rights….no less, no more. And I’m shocked when the Yes on 8 campaign can’t quite comprehend why the no on 8 backers actually get upset, frustrated, hurt and angry. I know that the yes on 8 supporters are relying on their holy book and religious cohorts so they don’t have any idea what it’s truly like to be attacked, belittled, ignored and hated. gays and lesbians have the highest suicide rate because of fear of rejection from family. i had been ousted by my parents not because they’re even an iota religious but, as it turns out years later, they couldn’t live with the idea that they had done something to ‘turn’ me this way [which they haven’t - i was born this way]. i encourage you to give more thought to your blog, your quotes, your position. you are not talking about god or the bible anymore - you’re talking about people’s personal lives, lives that have nothing to do with yours. my marriage does not impact you, nor yours mine.
i don’t expect you to change your vote or even the reasons you’ve held true to for voting that way. I only hope you will show the compassion for those you don’t understand as Christ did. I only hope you will consider the ramifications of spouting just anything out there. Finally, as a follower I would expect you to show understanding to those who are obviously hurting a great deal - you are going into their homes, taking the marriage license from my hands, and ripping it up in front of me - - I cannot help but ask: who are you and what gives you the right to enter my home and rip up a document that the state of CA has granted me?
Religionists who cannot distinguish between their own personal morality and the social policies of this state and nation do not even have a leg to stand on. Especially when your own campaign uses immoral and unethical behavior in efforts to legislate your morality. I read a blog (from someone I believe is a Mormon who is voting NO on Prop 8). He called out the Yes on 8 campaign for their hypocrisy. http://tjshelby.blogspot.com/2008/10/wickedness-never-was-happiness.html
As long as the Mormons who donated live their religion and follow the moral program they are trying to legislate…I’m sure these evil doers will find nothing of merit. But yours is not the first blog I have read to worry about the search, which leads me to believe that Mormons are worried. Hmmm…”let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” Guess you guys forgot that one.
@no surprise
You are still missing the point of my post. As a country we have rights for our opinion and free speech. Even though we don’t share the same beliefs on this issue, I respect your right to your opinion and your right to vote as you see fit on this issue. There is a widespread problem of Prop 8 supporters being personally targeted. Not only are their opinions not being respected but they are being attacked and targeted because of their religion.
Don’t you find it ironic that your very argument for “taking people’s rights”, Prop 8 opponents are not respecting the rights of those that they don’t agree with?
Have you seen the picture floating around email lately of Samuel the Lamanite holding up the Yes on 8 Sign? It is very big item here in California because it reflects how a lot of us feel right now.
The good side of controversy is that it creates a lot of opportunity for me to discuss the issues with non-LDS who are either neutral or supportive of my position.
Many of the LDS in California have been directly impacted by the rampant sign stealing campaigns.
One brother had his front yard YES sign stolen and replaced with a NO sign.
seriously…you’re worried about your signs that were made in china stolen - not about the sign used to beat someone on the head? you’re not even worried that all of your signs were made with cheap labor in china…the signs…i’m so sick of them - i wasn’t sure but all that yellow tells me one thing: yes on 8 are cowards and i won’t vote for them
@TerryM
No matter where the signs were created, choosing to post a political sign in support of a candidate or a position is a protected right. You don’t see people stealing or destroying their neighbor’s Toyota or Honda cars just because they are foreign made. You try doing that and just like defacing their signs, you are breaking the law and be liable for damages.
Yes, because foreign cars are exactly the same as signs intended to take my marriage rights, license and acknoweldgment away - definitely the same ;)
YOU are the one doing the persecuting.
@TerryM
A sign in someone else’s yard isn’t going to take away your rights. It is an indication of their right to free speech and an outward indication of their intent to vote in the coming election process… another right of citizens in this country. You don’t have to agree with them, but you do have to respect their right to speak their mind and to vote as they see fit.
It never ceases to amaze me how little the NO campaign understands the word tolerance for as much as they use it. Tolerance apparently only applies when it protects their point of view.
@TerryM: The sign that beat somebody on the head? How about the Modesto man whose YES signs were stolen and he was punched in the face requiring 16 stitches when he tried to retrieve them? There has been inappropriate behavior on both sides. Individuals make mistakes but the issue still remains one for the majority vote to decide.
So when No on 8 wins - you’ll all leave everything alone - or will you Mormons start the same cr@p in another state….put it on another ballot the next election? Will you never stop trying to put discrimination in the constitution?
@TerryM
Leave you alone? For years now there has been a series of nation-wide gay-rights groups attacking any legislation or candidates supporting traditional marriage. They go from state to state, pushing money and resources, doing anything to undermine traditional marriage and vote individuals into office who don’t believe in traditional values. Drop the lies about discrimination. We are defending the rights of ourselves, our families, and our religion. When we stop trying, we will have lost the rights for ourselves and future generations.
If you think that the world needs to leave you alone, you have become selfish and lost sight of the legacy you will leave behind. Obviously you haven’t thought of future generations if you believe that the hope for the future lies in homosexuality, which at its core is the inability to reproduce.
But don’t take my word for it. Here is an academic study about where our society is heading, based on empirical research. (No, it isn’t religious-based) Demographic Winter: decline of the human family
Well put, David. Those demanding tolerance seem to be among the most intolerant of those who don’t agree with their point of view.