Friends, we need to kill this monstrosity called Prop 8 – it’s probably the most important task we have this month apart from getting good people into (and bad people out of) office. I know most of you here oppose this hateful and un-American initiative, but we are up against a tidal wave of money from “conservative” anti-gay churches and their cynical GOP allies – $30 million, with a full 40% of it coming from the Mormon church! (before we get all anti-Mormon, I’ve posted a press release from dissident Mormons over the flip.)

But recent tracking polls have shown that when folks see both their ads and our ads, the NO side overwhelmingly wins (It always helps to have truth and decency on your side.)  So it’s ESSENTIAL that we help get ads like the new one below on the air, by contributing whatever you can, here! Hey, lookie here, I’m just a poor underemployed musician, and I just ponied up $50 myself!  How much are you in for??

OVER THE FLIP:

• A handy guide to the 5 lies in the famous Yes on 8 ad; (the Gloating Gavin / Lying Professor one)

• A press release from the good Mormons who disagree with their church leadership on this;

• AND fun pictures of Pinocchio, and Mormon missionaries on the Moon!  Click, damn it!

Okay, here is the lying ad that the other side has been running non-stop, followed by a guide to the lies in it (thanks to NoOnProp8.com; it’s easier to read here than to try to read it in their video while some hippy is singing a sad wise song)

LIE ONE: The narrator says, “Four judges ignored four million voters and imposed same-sex marriage on California.”

THE TRUTH:  The voter-approved initiative of 2000 was ANYTHING but ignored.  Instead, it was at the heart of the debate before the California Supreme Court.  It was found to violate the California Constitution, the ultimate expression of the people’s will.

LIE TWO: The narrator says, “…Acceptance of gay marriage is now MANDATORY.”

THE TRUTH:  The marriage ruling had nothing to do with what people could or could not believe.  In fact, it even made specific exemptions for religious organizations:  ‘No religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

LIE THREE: Pepperdine’s resident homophobic lying law professor Richard Peterson then steps in and pontificates: “That changes a lot of things:  People sued over personal beliefs…” (with a headline regarding the case “North Coast Women’s Medical Group vs. San Diego Superior Court” hovering in the background.)

THE TRUTH:  This case dealt with the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and NOT the marriage ruling.  Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is already illegal – REGARDLESS of Proposition 8 and same-sex marriage.

LIE FOUR: Peterson continues:  “…Churches could lose their tax exemptions…” with a backdrop of the headline “Anti-Gay Clergy Should Fear Backlash” from the Gay & Lesbian Times.

THE TRUTH:  THAT article claimed that in order to maintain tax-exempt status, religious organizations should not get heavily involved in POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS.  THAT’S articulated in federal and state laws – regardless of Prop. 8 and same-sex marriage.

LIE FIVE: And Peterson caps off his BS with “…Gay Marriage taught in public schools!” with a backdrop of the Massachusetts case “Parker v. Hurley.”

THE TRUTH:  This case deals with public education in Massachusetts; WE LIVE IN CALIFORNIA.  Here, the California Education Code, local school districts, and INVOLVED PARENTS determine what students should and shouldn’t learn about marriage – REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT PROP. 8 PASSES AND WE TAKE AWAY SAME-SEX COUPLES’ RIGHT TO MARRY.

Got all that?

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And, before we start to get all anti-Mormon, this just came “across the transom” from my Mormon friend Chino Blanco:

MORMONS TO DELIVER LETTERS, PETITION OPPOSING PROPOSITION 8

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Not all Mormons agree with their church’s decision to forcefully support Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that would eliminate the right to same-sex marriage in California. Now they’re speaking out.

Hundreds of Mormons and friends of Mormons have written letters and signed a petition at SigningForSomething.org to oppose the church’s inappropriate political posturing in California. The letters and petition will be delivered to church headquarters at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, after which Mormon dissidents will be available to talk with the media about their reasons for opposing the church’s political stance. Copies of the letters and petition will also be available for the press.

Signing For Something supporters will meet at a public park in downtown Salt Lake City across from the Church Office Building. It is on the northeast corner of State Street and North Temple. (This is the southernmost part of Memory Grove Park.)

People in attendance will include:

— Peter and Mary Danzig, who resigned their LDS membership after facing church pressure for writing a letter to the editor in support of same-sex marriage rights.

— Andrew Callahan, a Mormon high priest from Nebraska who has been threatened with excommunication over his opposition to Proposition 8.

— Members of Affirmation, a support group for gay and lesbian Mormons.

— Other active Mormons who are facing potential backlash for speaking out against the church’s political position.

“The Mormon church has emerged as the largest single backer of Proposition 8 in California, and we think it’s important for the public to know that not all Mormons support what our church is doing politically,” said Derek Price, a lifelong Mormon who helped create the Signing For Something website. “For a variety of reasons, many Mormons think it’s wrong for our church to work to eliminate an existing right to marriage equality in California.”

“We hold our political independence sacred and don’t appreciate our church telling us which causes we’re supposed to support. We’re perfectly capable of making those decisions on our own,” Price said. “We also don’t think churches should try to write their doctrine into civil law, especially while feigning ‘political neutrality.'”

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Derek Price
carcolumn@gmail.com
256-338-9692