After the break, I've posted a letter sent from Boyd K. Packer (president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) on July 28th to the California LDS (Mormon) stake (diocese) presidents.

I'll note a couple of items that caught my attention before posting the letter without further comment:

Apparently, there is a plan in place to put up one million 'Yes on 8' yard signs at 7:00 am on September 22nd.

This letter makes clear that those walking their precincts on behalf of the 'Yes on 8' campaign are not doing so to persuade their neighbors, but rather to identify potential 'Yes' votes.  As such, the precinct walking is clearly part of a standard get-out-the-vote operation, rather than an attempt to change hearts and minds.

The GOP consulting firm Schubert Flint Public Affairs is led by Frank Schubert and Jeff Flint, who also co-manage the Yes on 8 campaign.

The firm has announced an Open House to be held this Thursday, August 14th from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm to celebrate the opening of Schubert Flint's new Irvine office.

If you are able to get over to Irvine this Thursday evening, I've prepared a flyer that you can download, print out and take with you to distribute to the Open House attendees:  Schubert Flint Protest Flyer Download (PDF)

The Yes on 8 side of California's Prop. 8 battle is indignant.

Yet another judge has let them down, this time by refusing to change the Prop. 8 title to suit their campaign.

In response, the Yes on 8 campaign is now distributing this press release that includes this claim:

In a review of the past 50 years of ballot measures, this is the only initiative among 250 initiatives that an Attorney General has assigned a negative verb for its Title & Summary.

Really?  

Jennifer Kerns was hired last month to the position of Communications Director for the Yes on 8 campaign, the folks behind the California initiative to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Five short years ago, Jennifer Kerns was Vice President of External Affairs for the Orange County Young Republicans.  What follows is the tale of two rallies, told in photos from two events that Ms. Kerns organized back in the days before gay marriage had emerged as the primary threat to our republic.

Schubert Flint Public Affairs has been hired to run the Yes on Prop. 8 ("Protect Marriage") initiative.  If you've happened to notice the names Jennifer Kerns, Frank Schubert, or Jeff Flint in media coverage of California's Proposition 8 initiative, that would be because they all work for Schubert Flint.

After the break, I've posted an invitation from Schubert Flint Public Affairs to join them for an Open House on August 14th to celebrate the opening of their new Irvine office.

For reasons of my own (also posted after the break), my initial impulse when I saw this invitation was not to RSVP, but rather, to wonder if some other response might not be more appropriate for such an event?  What would you suggest?    

According to local pastor Wiley Drake, the 5.8 earthquake that hit Southern California on Tuesday was not just one of those typical seismic events that take place with some regularity in these parts, but it was "Another queer quake trying to get California's attention." Apparently, the Lord is mad about the legalization of gay marriage in the state. He can't be that mad, given that the quake didn't cause any death or much destruction, but Rev. Drake offers a warning: "We had better listen. 5.8 this time what is next!?"

Drake is something of a caricature of a religious right figure, so it's not fair to depict his crude opposition to gay marriage as typical of that found in Orange County's conservative evangelical communities, but ultimately most opponents of gay marriage rely on their Scriptural interpretations to justify it. Foes of gay marriage are backing a November initiative, Prop. 8, which would insert these words in the state constitution: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California."

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I support same-sex marriages.

Even though I don't understand homosexuals, I support their rights as human beings. God created them, just as he did everyone else, but he endowed them with different feelings of attraction and intimacy.

All humans, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation, deserve the same protection and rights under the law.

Married heterosexual couples are protected in issues of joint ownership, government or workplace benefits, and making life and death decisions for a spouse, and it is discriminatory to judge a person unworthy of these same rights simply because of who they are.

Being different should never be the core issue when determining if someone is worthy of being treated as an equal child of God. Jesus taught us to love one another, to bear one another's burdens, to visit the sick, the poor and the fatherless. Never has he charged us to reject anyone.

When we tell someone they are unworthy of the same human rights and protections we enjoy simply because they live and act differently than we do, I wonder if Jesus is pleased with how we are handling this issue.

Carlyle Potter
St. George, Utah
By Permission

By Derek Price
With Permission

When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently announced it would jump into California politics by supporting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, many Mormons - including myself - were appalled.

Some members were upset that their tithing donations would be used to support a political agenda with which they disagree. Others were disappointed to see the church once again veer from its hollow claim of "political neutrality." And some found it laughable that the LDS church, which was founded by people with famously liberal marriage arrangements, is now taking a "one man, one woman" stance.

Isn't that a little ironic?

Really, though, this isn't just an issue about Mormons, gays and the California Constitution. Aside from the unpleasant thought of individual religious groups trying to force their doctrine upon all people through the enactment of civil law, there's another reason churches should stay out of politics.

It's all about the money.