HOT Topic *sizzle! sizzle!*

Regardless of how I would or would not have voted, had I been a California resident, I do think that the following is relevant.

Scott Gordon discusses the impact of California's Proposition 8 on members of the Church and introduces a series of FAIR Web pages on the topic.

The passage of California Proposition 8 during the November 2008 election has generated a number of criticisms of the Church regarding a variety of issues including the separation of church and state, the Church's position relative to people who experience same-sex attraction, accusations of bigotry by members, and the rights of a non-profit organization to participate in the democratic process on matters not associated with elections of candidates. The proposition added a single line to the California state constitution defining marriage as being between "a man and a woman." This has lead to a number of claims that civil rights are being taken away. What many dont realize is that in California, those who have a civil union have exactly the same rights as traditional married couples. Any differences are on the Federal level and not the State level. There has been no change in any rights other than the use of the word.

In the aftermath of the election, people have been blacklisted, harassed, and have lost their jobs. Business have been boycotted. Chapels have been vandalized, and white powder has been delivered to various locations. In California, some members are very nervous about their employment and maintaining good relationships with those around them.

A number of myths have cropped up about the proposition and the Churchs role. To combat these myths, FAIR has created three Web pages related to Proposition 8 and its aftermath. You can find these pages by going to the lead article at www.fairmormon.org and following the links, or you can go to each of the pages directly here.

The proposition, Church involvement and financing:
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s385

Post election questions and myths:
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s386

Post election events:
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s387

We are concerned about the level of vitriol toward members of the Church in California without a word from our elected officials decrying it. It seems that hate crimes are still fashionable toward certain out-of-favor groups.

These Web pages document the events leading up to and resulting from the effort to pass California Proposition 8 as they relate to Latter-day Saints. We recognize that there was a broad coalition of supporters, of which Latter-day Saints were only a small part. However, given the disproportionate negative reaction to the Church after the passage of the proposition, it is prudent to clarify misperceptions and answer commonly asked question about Church members' involvement in this issue. We hope you find the pages to be helpful in understanding the issues and the aftermath.

--Scott Gordon
President, FAIR (The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research)