A Bit of Civil Rights FYI

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Mormons renew calls for California gay marriage ban

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS LINK TO ARTICLE

Senior elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made a televised appeal to Mormons in California Wednesday night to step up their already considerable efforts to pass a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in the state.

Two members of the church’s second-highest governing body, the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, quoted from Mormon scripture on the sanctity of marriage as they laid out a week-by-week strategy for boosting Mormon involvement before the Nov. 4 election in voter registration efforts, phone banks and distributing campaign materials.

“What we’re about is the work of the Lord, and He will bless you for your involvement,” apostle M. Russell Ballard said during the hourlong meeting, which was broadcast to church buildings in California, Utah, Hawaii and Idaho.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is part of a coalition of conservative groups backing Proposition 8, which would overturn the California Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the nation’s most populous state by amending the state constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman.

Mormons have been active participants in the campaign both as volunteers and financial contributors, giving an estimated 43 percent—some $8.4 million—to the Proposition 8 campaign, according to the Web site mormonsfor8.com. There are about 770,000 Mormon church members in California, but Mormons from outside the state have been encouraged to give money and time to help pass the measure.

During Wednesday’s taped satellite broadcast, church leaders asked for 30 members from each California congregation to donate four hours of week to the campaign. They also called on young married couples and single Mormons to use the Internet, text messaging, blogging and other forms of computer technology to help pass the initiative, saying the church has created a new Web site—PreservingMarriage.org—with materials they can download and post on their own social networking sites.

Church elder L. Whitney Clayton, who has been working as a liaison between the LDS leaders and the Proposition 8 campaign, said before the event that it was meant to energize Mormons for the weeks remaining before Election Day.“It’s a political campaign, and time is short and there’s a lot to do.”

Along with recruiting Mormons to work in California, church members from outside the state have been asked to call friends and family at home in California to encourage support for the measure, according to Clayton. He said many students attending church-owned universities have asked how they might help and could be enlisted to make calls.

“In California, the phone trees are up and running. We just want to be able to help, and one of the things we can do is we can organize,” Clayton said in an interview Wednesday. Officially, the Mormon church is politically neutral and does not endorse individual candidates or political parties. The church does, however, weigh in on issues it considers morally important. The church holds traditional marriage as a sacred institution ordained by God and has actively fought efforts to legalize same-sex marriage across the United States since the 1990s.

Its involvement in the California same-sex marriage debate this year began with a letter from church President Thomas S. Monson asking California Mormons to give their time and money to pass Proposition 8. Monson’s letter has been read repeatedly in Mormon churches, and opponents of the forthcoming initiative have credited LDS members with giving the Yes on 8 camp an edge in donations and volunteers.

Some Mormons have criticized the church for wading so heavily into the political realm.

“We know that it is not without controversy, yet let me be clear that at the heart of this issue is the central doctrine of eternal marriage and it’s place in our Father’s plan,” Ballard said. Besides Clayton and Ballard, the broadcast featured Quentin L. Cook, another member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

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A Letter From The Human Rights Campaign

Dear Friend,

Marriage equality in California is now losing by 5 points, according to the latest poll numbers. Until that poll, we were leading in California. What happened? Anti-LGBT groups are winning the fundraising battle by more than $10 million – and their vicious, untrue ads are everywhere. Our lead has slipped, but victory is still within reach. We need to get on the air quickly to counter their lies and we need your help to do it.

Generous donors Tom Bombardier and John Fowler, along with the Human Rights Campaign, will double every online contribution TODAY, up to $120,000.

Donate now to the HRC California Marriage PAC – No on Proposition 8 and your gift for marriage equality will be DOUBLED.

Can you imagine a loving, committed, married couple watching their marriage rights evaporate against their will? I don't think there's any precedent for that in modern civilization. Well, that's what could happen across California if Proposition 8 passes and the decision of the state Supreme Court is reversed.

Anti-LGBT forces are organizing and mobilizing furiously, raising money hand over fist, ginning up fear and resentment. Groups like Focus on the Family, members of the Mormon Church, and even the national Knights of Columbus have provided significant funding. And it appears their tactics are working – the recent polls show that California voters now favor the Amendment to ban marriage equality, 47 to 42 percent.

It's up to us to make sure the truth gets out, but we can only do that if we raise more money. Right now, their war chest is $10 million deeper than ours – and that gap is growing.The Human Rights Campaign has been on the ground in California from the beginning of this fight, contributing time and resources, and we're not ready to give up now. In fact, we have already contributed more than $2 million to this fight. I'm guessing you aren't ready to give up either.
For those of us deeply committed to equality and dignity for LGBT Americans, the time is now – especially now that generous donors Tom Bombardier and John Fowler and HRC will double your gift and make it go twice as far.

Will you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us today? Every dollar you give right now will be DOUBLED and sent straight to California.

Wake up on November 5th knowing you did everything you could. We have equality, basic human decency and the truth on our side. Now we need you.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President
Human Rights Campaign

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