The LDS Church and Proposition 8 Protestors

posted by Curt, on November 7, 2008 08:09 pm

Apparently a thousand or so people gathered outside of Temple Square this evening to protest the LDS Church's involvement in Proposition 8 in California. For those who may not be familiar with it, Proposition 8 was the referendum to amend the California constitution and define marriage as the union between one man and one woman, in the wake of the California Supreme Court's invalidation of the state's Defense of Marriage Act. The LDS Church urged its members to support the amendment, and support it they did--to the tune of countless hours donated labor and $20 million dollars donations. Against all initial expectations, Proposition 8 passed; the gay community in California and the United States was stunned by its failure. And they were plenty angry at the LDS Church.

Now they are preparing another legal challenge (to invalidate the amendment on procedural grounds) and protesting outside of LDS Temples (so far in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City). Objections to the LDS Church's involvement run the gamut from pure disagreement on the merits to concerns about church-state relations, tax exempt status, and downright hypocrisy (given the Church's history of persecution and alternative marriage practice).

And now the Proposition 8 opponents are trying to . . . what, exactly? Make the Church pay with bad publicity for its support of Proposition 8? I really don't get the idea of these protests. And I don't get the reason they are targeted specifically at the LDS Church. What exactly is accomplished by standing outside with signs and yelling, besides interfering with people who want to go on with their normal lives. Perhaps it's therapeutic, but certainly no more so than a gay pride parade. In cases where the organization is likely to be swayed by a display of popular uprising against their position, a protest may also make sense as a means of persuasion on the merits--but clearly that not what these protesters are driving at here.

The only think I can think is that they are mad at the church and they are trying to shame or embarrass it in the eyes of everyone else--either that or trying to threaten it in an attempt to prevent it from "sticking its nose into other people's business" ever again.

The members of the church exercised their rights to vote and support a cause. Usually, when people do this, others on the losing side of a political issue don't line up outside their homes and protest. And that's a good thing. It shows respect for the opposing viewpoint and an acknowledgment that the democratic process has worked. I am almost certain, had Proposition 8 failed, that LDS Church members would not be protesting outside the offices of the ACLU or the "No on 8" campaign headquarters--despite the ridiculous so-called "Mormon Missionary" commercial. But, the issue came out the other way, and the LDS Church is being targeted for it.

Don't get me wrong. Everyone has the right to speak and protest. No person or organization who speaks out on an issue should expect to be immune from criticism of their position. But I'm calling this one as ridiculous. The opponents of Proposition 8 need to make their case to the California people not the LDS Church. And if the best way they can think of to do that is to trying and publicly shame the church, well . . . let's just say they that maybe they won't be as successful as soon as I thought they would.

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