Mormon Leaders Make Small Moves On Gay Rights
Mormon leaders took a bit of a positive step last month when they released a six-page document detailing their stance on gay marriage.
While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t back same-sex marriage – and have asked members to back Proposition 8, which would overturn California’s gay marriage win – they’re prepared to support certain same-sex rights:
The church does not object to rights (already established in California) regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference.
The document, entitled “The Divine Institution of Marriage,” also insists that while they don’t approve of the gays, they frown on anti-gay action: “[This stance] neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility towards homosexual men and women. Protecting marriage between a man and a woman does not affect church members’ obligations of love, kindness and humanity toward all people.”
Gay Mormon group Affirmation applauded the Church’s declaration, calling it “the most affirming statement of both human and civil rights of gay people” that leaders have made. The group did, however, scoff at the document’s definition of marriage – one man, one woman, obviously – and insists such a position marginalizes countless families, including single-parent households.
Big of them. It’s also fun to note that they don’t specify that marriage “between a man and a woman” is marriage between one man and one woman.
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Just to be clear, because of all these religious-types muddying the waters, the California Supreme Court’s marriage decision does not force any church to perform any wedding they don’t want to perform.
There’s no infringement on the freedom to believe in invisible friends in the sky.
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Several of my mormon friends are worried. They say that their church was on the wrong side of the Civil Rights movement by not allowing blacks to be full church members until the late 70′s and they feel that being so anti-gay will come back to bite the church in the ass in the future. Hopefully this is the first of many such small steps, because no matter what the church claims, they are phenominally anti-gay. they just hate bad publicity.
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That seems a lot different from the last time we voted on gay marriage here in California and every Mormon in my neighborhood had a huge anti-gay sign on their front lawn. Maybe they are embracing the inevitable — they had a revelation about ending polygamy after all.
In any case I appreciate it when the Mormons let the rest of us go to hell in our own way, and they mind their own business.
As for gay Mormons, I can only say good luck with that. My heart goes out to you.
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This is nothing new. The church has never condoned anti-gay action.
I am a little surprised, though, that Affirmation seems to be waiting for the Church to redefine marriage – that will never happen.
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So they are basically saying you can have rights in California, but you can’t be part of their exclusive club. That’s what it boils down to. They don’t want to share marriage with us.
Constitutional rights of churches & practice their religion free from government interference?
What about my practice of being able to be acknowledge by my government without religious interferece? They still don’t get that prop 8 doesn’t force them to recognize gay marriage.
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“they frown on anti-gay action: “[This stance] neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility towards homosexual men and women. Protecting marriage between a man and a woman does not affect church members’ obligations of love, kindness and humanity toward all people.”
It almost sounds like the double talk garbage spouted by Obama.
I don’t hate you but I think you and your relantionships are less than mine. But I don’t hate you or “frown” upon you. Yep must def Obamanite jargon. Could he be also a mormon?
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@ ksu499:
“Protecting marriage between a man and a woman does not affect church members’ obligations of love, kindness and humanity toward all people.”
I swear, what’s wrong with peoples reading skills today. Read the small print people!
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sorry but this is bs. it’s some itty bitty whisper that “we dont totally hate the gays” – only to get a little good publicity.
so far nearly every friend i have at work, and outside of work – has now had mormons come to their houses to preach voting no on prop 8. they are going DOOR TO DOOR, to every household in california to preach their bigotry. if the church truly backed that statement above, they would not have mandated that every member donate their time and money to this cause. mormons have already donated over $5mm of their own money to this, not to mention going to door to door.
words on paper are one thing. actions are another. please dont buy this bs from one of the most bigoted, self-absorbed religions in the world.
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Mormons are just as nutty as the rest of the religious crowd. I don’t know why we have to go around caring what the world’s religions and their followers think about everything.
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fucking morons-why be kind to this cultish church. they back track on everything they have ever done in past. “children we did practice multipule marriages but we had to ’cause so many women died coming to our promised land.” “a prophet can have a revelation from god and he says black people can be leaders in our church.”
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As a reformed Latter Day Saint this made me laugh out loud. AS a victim type “therapy” which was designed to drive the evilss of lesbianism out of me which my folks provided for me at the direction of the local Bishopric I can only wonder “how the hell can they lie so brazenly?”
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At least they aren’t preaching hate like some of the *cough-douchebage-cough* Baptists I know.