what makes this story even more incredible is that the ordinances were passed because prior to the vote the mormon church announced its support for the legislation, making the vote unanimous.
interesting turn of events. when california's prop 8 passed last year many people speculated that it was because of the support of the mormon church(even though eventually it surfaced that Focus on the Family and related donors pumped more than six times as much as the Mormon church did into the ProtectMarriage.com campaign).
the mormon church still doesn't believe in gay marriage, but they supported the ordinances because "they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage,"(michael otterson, the director of public affairs for the church)
-also, side note, imagine if michael otterson was actually an otter. in disguise. think about it-
anyways, brandie balken(the director of equality utah) said that she thinks this is a "historic event" that establishes that the gay community and the church "can stand together on common ground" and that they don't have to "agree on everything."
it's true. small steps like this seem to be a good plan.
-also, side note, imagine if michael otterson was actually an otter. in disguise. think about it-
anyways, brandie balken(the director of equality utah) said that she thinks this is a "historic event" that establishes that the gay community and the church "can stand together on common ground" and that they don't have to "agree on everything."
it's true. small steps like this seem to be a good plan.
2 comments:
I'm *so* torn on how to react to this (and trying really hard to keep my innate distrust of monotheism from getting in the way). On the one hand, everything in me screams "every step forward is important"...but then on the other hand, here's a good expression of an alternate view:
http://www.progressivepuppy.com/the_progressive_puppy/2009/11/mormon-church-suddenly-likes-gays-dont-believe-it.html
i agree hans. i especially agree with "every step forward is important." but maybe we should stick with an optimistically skeptical in between.
it really bothers me that the mormon church(despite its obvious shortcomings) has taken pretty much all of the heat for prop 8 and the rolling back of lgbtqa rights in the united states.
and relatively speaking, it just isn't true. christian organizations are just better at hiding what they do. anytime the mormon church takes a public stance on something people notice because, well, mormons are kind of crazy. i guess we're just all used to the christian organizations being nutso.
the fact is that the mormon church represents a view that is not uncommon in the united states, canada, and the world. that "homosexuals" are a threat. but, the church didn't have to support those ordinances. despite why they did it, it affects people's actual lives.
so i say: keep it up mormon church. maybe if these small steps keep happening eventually we'll get to something that looks like actual human rights for all.
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