11/5/08
I'm not going to ruin a perfectly nice seismic sea change in American history for long, but I don't think it's possible to take in the enormity of yesterday's outcome without also being deeply disgusted and saddened by California's decision to nullify the rights of married same-sex couples. Actually, saying "California" did it is something of an inaccurate synecdoche; it was really two groups of people: African American women and churches.
I suppose it's the ultimate irony that Barack Obama inspired a huge number of black Americans to vote, and in doing so, also doomed hundreds of thousands of gay Americans. It's further jaw-dropping that these particular demographics – such as black and Hispanic Californians – would vote so overwhelmingly to strip people of the same rights once denied to them. I simply can't fathom it, but it leads unavoidably to...
Churches. Especially churches in the poor-income areas of California's big cities, but particularly one church that looms 750 miles over the Sierra Nevadas: my ancestral homeland of Mormons. The Church of Latter Day Saints hates gays like gays were the eleventh Plague, nestled somewhere between Pestilence and Incurable Boils. They have no problem going door to door in nice neighborhoods spreading their cheery brand of homophobia disguised as doctrine.
When I saw the MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars coming down Interstate 15 to shove Proposition 8 (aka "Prop Hate") through the system, I wondered why our side didn't immediately blanket the airwaves with ads like "Are You Gonna Let the Mormons Tell You How To Vote?" and "California: Not Utah, and Damn Proud Of It" but frankly, I think the progressive community got blindsided.
The homophobes ran ads saying that gay marriage was going to be force-taught to 2nd graders, which was an outright lie – but before long, the "yes" numbers started to creep up, and last night, the gay-haters won down the stretch. I predicted this in May, right after same-sex marriage was legalized:
Inevitably - INEVITABLY - a bill will be put before the government, or a referendum on the ballot, that will declare same-sex marriage illegal, and it will be sponsored by some of the most morally-repugnant lowlifes in politics and organized religion. I have trouble fathoming most conservative and Republican behavior, but going after gays is truly sickening. It's one thing if you truly believe in unprovoked war, or unfettered capitalism, or denying climate change... but there's a special place in hell waiting for those who punish homosexuals for daring to get married. The vindictiveness is astonishing.
The fight isn't over; it never is. The arc of the moral universe, plus a lot of lawyers, will see to that. But until then, two things need a reckoning: first, I have to come to grips with my extended family, because if I find out any of them helped fund this travesty, my enthusiasm for any more visits or reunions will be almost zilch.
Secondly, THE MORMON CHURCH NEEDS TO LOSE ITS TAX-EXEMPT STATUS. As does any church that donates millions of dollars of its own money to change governmental policy. If a preacher tells his congregation that voting for Obama will send them to hell, that's fine, BUT REVOKE THAT CHURCH'S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS. I am absolutely disgusted that these institutions are allowed to take their members' tithing, use it to violate the human rights of our fellow Americans, and then, in turn, NOT PAY ANY TAXES TO THE GOVERNMENT THEY ARE TRYING TO CHANGE.
My gay friends are actually paying taxes to make up for the shortfall of church tax revenue, money which is instead used to demonize... my gay friends. They are paying money for the right of churches to strip them of their rights. In what way doesn't this suck?
Is this what it has come to? Are homosexuals our last bogeymen? I know we had a huge victory yesterday, and pardon me for asking for too much, but how long do we have to wait for this shit to be over?
Posted by Ian Williams at November 5, 2008 11:17 PMIan,
I'm curious. Were there any religious institutions/organizations/churches that publicly took on the propaganda coming from the groups you mentioned?
I think rank-and-file Mormons are sincere, honest, hardworking folk, and I love our Mormon relations. Even -- especially -- cousin David, who is the biggest wingnut in the family. He was born on my birthday so I've always thought of him as mine.
But the Mormon Church is nothing more than a racket. They are a white-shirt dark-tie Mafia, run as a wide-ranging business empire that doesn't pay taxes. As for losing their tax-exempt status, if the church itself put money into Prop8, there's a serious case for them losing their tax exempt status.
Except those rules have only ever been used against progressive churches. No one fucks with the LDS. They OWN the Mountain West. Both in the literal and the political sense.
I'm curious: What do gay Mormons do with themselves? Do they stay closeted? (I assume so.)
It's always terrible for individuals to essentially have to choose between family/community and personal identity.
What is the state of investigative journalism, if it exists, vis-a-vis the LDS in Utah?
Did exit polls show that black women who turned out and voted for Obama also voted "yes" on Prop 8? I'm curious if anyone knows what the numbers are. Was their "yes" vote result of Mormon influence?
Thank you so much, Ian! I was so excited when I went to bed Tues night and so heartbroken when I woke up Wed to see this news. It felt like, FINALLY! A party of inclusion! Diversity rules!...oh, except you fuckers. That's what it felt like to me. Like dancing at a big party, having a great time, and then being kicked out of the club when the people you fought for to get in, ganged up on you when you weren't looking.
And to Anne, Jon Krakauer wrote an amazing book on LDS called Under the Banner of Heaven. S.C.A.R.Y!
And Gay Mormons get kicked out of their families and communities. They become "dead" to everyone who they've ever known and loved.
why not teach gay marriage to a 2nd grader? (without the details of sex). can somoene explain. If prop 8 should have passed then why not teach gay marriage?
Also, if the church should be taxed what about other ogranizations that take a stance politically. The CA teachers union spent 1.25 million in support of prop 8. If the church should be taxed why should they not be taxed as well?just wondering
Just ran across this online petition--apparently, the church spent $22 million on the Prop 8 effort--sign on to oppose the Mormon Church's tax-free status:
http://www.mormonsstoleourrights.com/#petition
And just a quick thought re: just wondering's questions--first, I can't think of any reason why gay marriage should not be legalized, acknowledged, validated, taught, accepted, or honored in the same way that traditional het marriage is....second, churches and unions strike me as fundamentally different types of organizations. I.e., I don't see why they should be compared as though they are somehow inherently similar. Unions exist in order to exert political pressure. Churches, in the eyes of our Constitution, are supposed to function beyond--or at least apart from--politics.
ChrisM: I was naive about California, but the other states with the same referendum - AZ and FL also passed it. The demographics are strange to me because I don't think of them existing outside of NC (or the South, I should say). In the other two states exit polls showed that 70% and 69% of blacks voted for the bans, I didn't catch if it was church-going black women specifically, nor was it presented that way.
Ian: this shit is not going to be over. The evangelical right wing did not get much of their agenda under way through Bush, not even close. Now all right wing initiatives will slowly creep in under referendums and state decisions. It will be attempted (or successful) death by a thousand cuts.
While not a Libertarian, I do appreciate their philosophy that these issues should not be politicized or even asked about. This applies to marriage in general, not just gay marriage. I'm not sure marriage should be a legal issue anyway.
Anne @ 5:55: They stay closeted or leave the church. A true story: a former colleague, gay and an ex-Mormon, was reported to the campus morality office (or whatever it's called) his freshman year at BYU for being suspected as gay. At this point in his life, he did not identify as gay, and thought of himself as asexual. When he "confessed" that he didn't think about sex with women, the school counselor gave him a pebble and told him to put it in his shoe. Every time he took a step and felt the pebble cut into his foot, he was supposed to think "I'm not gay." The effect of this, he said, was that he ended up thinking constantly about sex with men and realized that actually, he was gay. What followed with his family, friends, and school was not pleasant, but today he's happily partnered and living in California. Where he cannot now marry his partner.
"just wondering" - I have no problem teaching 2nd graders about gay marriage. Lucy already understands that many of her school friends have two daddies or mommies that are married, and she's frickin' three years old.
As for teachers raising money, there's no conscious philosophical separation between education and state.
Dan J. - as far as I know, there was no organized church effort against Prop 8.
:-(
It's hard for me to be excited about Obama b/c of this.
Does anyone know whether there are any statistical analyses regarding whether the Prop 8 outcome might have been different had it not been for the Mormons' financial contributions from Utah? Because it seems to me that this would violate the very essence of states' rights.
Two observations:
1) Because the Presidential race wasn't close in CA, a lot of progressive-leaning voters may have stayed home. Voter education shouldn't end with the Presidential race...
2) THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE. Fundamental rights are above politics. Politics, as we know, is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for lunch. Surely voters in the South would have voted to keep slavery legal 150 years ago and would have voted to keep interracial marriage illegal even 40 years ago. This will ultimately be decided by the US Supreme Court -- which is another reason this election was critically important.
Oh, and did anyone else notice that the results are in? NC for OBAMA!
Now if Missouri goes for McCain, the scotch is mine!
:-)
And if it Missouri goes for Obama, I believe the Scotch is my wife's
I couldn't believe the news when I woke up Weds. morning. One of my hopes with this election (crazy, I know) was that Dems would win a super-majority and have a president in office and that might lead to changes with gay marriage and discrimination against gay couples. I went to bed Tuesday night grateful that our nation could give itself this gift of Obama (I was a Hillary fan but became an Obama convert) and with hope in my heart that my daughter Anna might never have to see her moms experience discrimination against their relationship. Prop 8 passing and a ban against gay couples adopting children in that fine state of Arkansas make my heart heavy.
"Dan J. - as far as I know, there was no organized church effort against Prop 8." - That's sad.
This isn't even a civil rights issue, it's a *human rights* issue. Anybody else reminded of the Nuremberg Laws?
"The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor"
If you're not already depressed, read *that* wikipedia article. Yeah, I know, Godwin's rule. I'll shut up now.
Obama has come out strongly for the repeal of DOMA, anyway. It's another matter whether Congress will have the guts to follow him on that.
Forgive me if this is mentioned in the above comments, but I was listening to NPR before the election, and they said that 501 c3 organizations (such as churches) are forbidden from participating in electoral polics, but ballot initiatives aren't considered electoral politics because nobody is getting elected.
To Bud and Chip: depending on whether Price Is Right rules apply in the great scotch giveaway, I should point out that for the first time in history it looks like Nebraska will be splitting its' electors, giving Omaha to Obama.
As the director of a non-profit, and an extremely passionate leftist commie liberal, I've had to do a great deal of research on what I can and cannot do, in regards to politics, both as an individual, and as a representative of my organization. And that is when you learn the fine but important line between "lobbying" and "educating". I can educate the crap out of my elected officials about the benefits of arts education, say, and about how No Child Left Behind has eviscerated arts education, but I can't lobby for a particular change or a particular candidate. I can also, and did also, send out to my membership the voting records of McCain and Obama in regards to arts and arts education. But all the leaps from the education to the decision-making process must be made by the officials, and by the public. I can present the information, but I can't say, "So vote for Obama". This definitely pertains to influencing legislation, as well as influencing the election of a candidate.
That being said, I CANNOT IMAGINE that what the Mormon Church did in regards to Prop 8 is legal. But, the laws in Utah also might be slightly different... although, I think, this is a federal issue.
To further my education, I'm doing a series of non-profit advocacy training in the next couple of months, regardless of all of the other training I've got under my belt on this, because it is such a murky issue. But, still. I hope someone does the research, and if the LDS church's actions were illegal, someone should sue the crap out of them, and all proceeds should go to funding a million gay marriage receptions.
I'm come here to read comments several times today...just because I know it'll feel like a warm hug, as opposed to the kick in the balls that (52% of) my state gave me on Tuesday.
As we speak (started at 2PM) there is a No on 8 press conference being conducted in front of the Mormon temple in Beverly Hills. I wish I could be there, but having taken the day off on Tuesday to work the polls I couldn't get out again today.
The fight is far from over. We will prevail. And I love you all.
Ehren - Maine will also split its electors, 3 to Obama and 1 to McCain. Unless Nebraska ends up NOT splitting, It'll come down to Missouri... and I'll be happy either way.
You have to wonder if obama was not against gay marriage if this would have passed or if so many black women would have voted the way they did
Obama was officially against Prop 8. Though yes, the nuanced difference between that stance and his opposition to gay marriage is confusing.
"Politics, as we know, is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for lunch."
Actually, the quote is "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
"Obama was officially against Prop 8. Though yes, the nuanced difference between that stance and his opposition to gay marriage is confusing."
And this is why I trust Democrats no more than I trust Republicans. It's all doubletalk.
I did wonder why the Democrats didn't really take Obama to task for his stance on gay marriage. I mean, there were many CONSERVATIVES who voted no on 8. I figured most Democrats viewed this as strategy on his part to appear more centrist so as to get elected.
Claudia - that's exactly what I'm hoping Obama was doing. Alternately, he could be seeking a middle way although it's hard to imagine a compromise that would satisfy either side, much less both sides.
TJ - yeah, I was paraphrasing. You win again, quotemeister! But the point remains the same: fundamental rights are for the courts - not voters - to decide.
Or maybe it's just that Obama's decision to come out against gay marriage is a sign of who he is... a politician who will say anything to get elected or a person who truly believes that Gays should not be allowed to marry. Either way it is a reflection of what is to come. His selection for his chief of staff sure shows he is the candidate of change.
In order for churches to retain a 501c3 tax-exempt status, they must adhere to 14 standards. One of which is to be non-political, not endorsing political agendas - so, yes, the federal government should challenge the Mormon church and all other churches promoting any politics. That includes Rev Wright, Louis Farakhan and Jerry Falwell. In my opinion, ALL of these churches should lose there non-profit status due to the behavior of their leaders.
Regarding gsys - i think sincere biblical Christians are taught, via the bible, to "love the sinner and hate the sin". In other words, give dignity and love to all gay people but disagree with their life style. Now, please don't go shouting "self-rightousness". Biblical Christians will and should be the first to acknowledge that all of us live sinful lifes. I am no "better" than anyone else - we all battle our sin nature - anger, lust for power, revenge, pride - it's all the same - it is all "contrary to the nature of God".
I don't think our founding fathers would have ever defined "marriage" as a life long commitment between two same gender people. Nor, do i find the history of peoples. civilizations and/or religions accepting gay marriage.
Unlike Muslims, biblical Christians are instructed to love sinners. Remember, it is the Muslim religion which instructs believers to stone homosexuals. That crazy leader in Iran - he told the press at the U.N. earlier this year - that there are no homosexuals in his country.
I believe a fair compromise is to acknowledge civil unions.