Bent Corner

I read an article over on the New York Times website detailing how the Mormon church was such a driving force in the movement to ban same-sex marriage in California. It’s an interesting read:

On Oct. 28, Mr. Ashton, the grandson of the former Mormon president David O. McKay, donated $1 million. Mr. Ashton, who made his fortune as co-founder of the WordPerfect Corporation, said he was following his personal beliefs and the direction of the church.

“I think it was just our realizing that we heard a number of stories about members of the church who had worked long hours and lobbied long and hard,” he said in a telephone interview from Orem, Utah.

In the end, Protect Marriage estimates, as much as half of the nearly $40 million raised on behalf of the measure was contributed by Mormons.

So Alan Ashton, a man who doesn’t live in California, who made a fortune selling word processing software — coincidentally enough, I have to think that at least some of those WordPerfect users were gay — was directed by his tax exempt church to donate a vast sum of money to an organization dedicated to denying a basic civil right to a whole group of people.

I’ve got a huge problem with that.

I have nothing against Mormons. I’ve known quite a few over the years and I’m hard pressed to think of even one Mormon who I didn’t like on a personal level. With that said, I detest the fact that they have used their church to facilitate stripping a basic civil right to so many people with no connection to them whatsoever.

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Like many open minded Americans, I was disappointed to see 52.5 percent of California voters back Proposition 8, a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to ban marriage between anyone other then a man and a woman.

In other words, to ban gay marriage.

The Proposition 8 campaign was heavily funded by out-of-state donations from Mormons.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) sent a letter to every Mormon temple in California that was read to church members advising them to vote yes on Proposition 8.

The LDS is now facing a backlash.  One blogger is attempting to have their tax exempt status revoked.  Since the LDS has decided to take a proactive role in politics, they no longer qualify as a tax exempt religious organization.

Gay activists have organized protests at Mormon temples in California and Utah.

I think it’s more than a little ironic that California has been manipulated on the subject of marriage by Mormons.  If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had their way, Mormons would be practicing polygamy. Marriage would not only be between a man and a woman, it would be between a man and ten women.  Middle-aged Mormon men would be allowed to marry their pre-teen nieces.

Mormons have no business defining what marriage is.

My home state of California has a proposition on the ballot asking Californians if marriage between two gay people should be banned or not.  If you vote YES on Proposition 8, it means gay marriage should be illegal.  If you vote NO on Proposition 8, it means gay people should be allowed to enter into committed relationships with the person they love.

Proposition 8, if passed, will amend the state Constitution to take away a right that people currently have. Gay marriage is currently legal in California.  Some people have a problem with that.  The ballot measure has been heavily bankrolled by Mormons.  Not only do they have a problem with a cold Pepsi on a hot day, they have a problem with gay folks getting married. Go figure.

Not all Mormons are against Prop 8. One of America’s favorite Mormons, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young has donated $37,000 to Equity California, a group that it working to defeat the ballot measure. The checks have all been signed by Steve’s wife Barb, but she has made it clear in a statement that both her and Steve are against Proposition 8.

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has once again gone out of his way to say something incredibly stupid. This time it’s about the Mormon faith. In an upcoming article to be published in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Huckabee reportedly asks the question to the reporter interviewing him for the magazine. They had been discussing fellow presidential hopeful Mitt Romney who is Mormon.

Huckabee is pretending is was a simple question about something he didn’t understand taken totally out of context. I’m not buying it. Mike Huckabee should know a thing or two about the Mormon religion. He is an ordained Southern Baptist minister. He received a B.A. in theology from Ouachita Baptist University in 1975 and an M.A. in theology from Southwestern Baptist Theology Seminary in 1980. If there is one thing this man should know, it’s about religion.

The Mormon faith is a major religion in this county. Wikipedia says that there are over 6.7 million Mormons in this county. How can a man that holds two degrees in religion pretend to be so dense about another religion that he could pose such a crass and ridiculous question? He needs to treat Mormonism with as much respect as he would like others to show his own particular faith. I would think a theologian would know that.

Mike Huckabee is an idiot.