So, I’ve been asking myself that question a lot since Prop 8 eked out a victory this week at the polls — thanks in large part to the approximately 22 million dollars donated by members of the LDS (Mormon) Church to the Yes on 8 campaign. Seems like I’m not the only one asking this question — and they’ve even started a petition.
I know that the LDS church offers a lot for its members — community, faith, support — but what I don’t understand is why they should have the right to use their resources to force the rest of us to conform to their world view. It’s not only unfair and immoral, it’s unconstitutional.
(The genius of the constitution being to protect the minority from a hostile majority through an intricate set of checks and balances — one of them being the Bill of Rights. Each time I watch our democratic process at work, I am awed by the foresight and genius (and sheer dumb luck) of our country’s founders. For this very reason, I love my country.)
What about the requirements for the church’s Tax exempt status as a non-profit organization? The church violated the separation of church and state by investing their non-profit funds ito a state ballot measure. Is there any requirement on funding of this sort related to thier Tax exempt status? Obviously I am ignorant of these paticulars so please excuse my curiosity. I think it stinks that prop 8 was even allowed to become a state ballot measure. While I do think the vehicle needs to be in place for we the people to overturn something we all think is wrong, I can not see how this one was even allowed to get approval since it was publicly funded by the church. So many people I have spoken to that voted yes on prop 8 had no idea that this was a separation issue and were upset that they voted to let a religion direct the state constitution. I am a straight rupublican. I believe in a God and that I have an immortal soul. I do not believe God will send homosexual people to a lake of burning fire or hell for finding and loving thier soul mate. Once you find another individual in this world that you share a deep and abiding mutual love and respect for then hold on because that is a difficult thing to find. I do not know what the christian and morman divorce rates are vs. homosexuals but I got a hunch its not that far apart. In the country I love we are all equal and equality is what our forefathers expected from the government and the people, from the nation they were creating. Separation of church and stae is a very good thing but only if we the people insist on it and enforce it.