Reactions to Prop 8

SALT LAKE CITY
7 November 2008
cited from http://www.lds.org/

The Church issued the following statement today:

"It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election.
Members of the Church in California and millions of others from every faith, ethnicity and political affiliation who voted for Proposition 8 exercised the most sacrosanct and individual rights in the United States — that of free expression and voting.
While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.
Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same-sex marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, harassed or subject to erroneous information."

SACRAMENTO
7 November 2008
(This news release was issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento)

The following statement was released today by Bishop William Weigand, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento and former Bishop of Salt Lake City, in response to attacks on (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) for supporting California’s Proposition 8, defending the traditional definition of marriage:

“Catholics stand in solidarity with our Mormon brothers and sisters in support of traditional marriage — the union of one man and one woman — that has been the major building block of Western Civilization for millennia.
“The ProtectMarriage coalition, which led the successful campaign to pass Proposition 8, was an historic alliance of people from every faith and ethnicity. LDS were included — but so were Catholics and Jews, Evangelicals and Orthodox, African-Americans and Latinos, Asians and Anglos.
“Bigoted attacks on Mormons for the part they played in our coalition are shameful and ignore the reality that Mormon voters were only a small part of the groundswell that supported Proposition 8.
“As the former bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, I can attest to the fact that followers of the Mormon faith are a good and generous people with a long history of commitment to family and giving to community causes.
“I personally decry the bigotry recently exhibited towards the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — coming from the opponents of Proposition 8, who ironically, have called those of us supporting traditional marriage intolerant.
“I call upon the supporters of same-sex marriage to live by their own words — and to refrain from discrimination against religion and to exercise tolerance for those who differ from them. I call upon them to accept the will of the people of California in the passage of Proposition 8.”

This is a really tough issue for both sides. It's understandable that homosexuals are feeling wronged and are hurt that California, and other states, voted to not let them have the same rights to marry as heterosexuals. This is such a sensitive issue and can invoke a lot of hurt feelings. I like what the Church pointed out, though, in its statement. We as Americans have the right to vote according to our religious views, just as others are free to vote in opposition of those views. And it's okay. It's part of the democratic process. Gays may not understand our position. That's fine. But to target Mormons in such a hateful way is not the answer. We are not going around hating on gays. We are trying to protect the sanctity of marriage in the way that God organized it in the beginning with Adam and Eve. We all need to be tolerable that other people will have different views than us without being hateful to them. It's part of our right as Americans to have our own opinion and speak openly about it. Like I said, it's such a tough issue that invokes a lot of painful feelings. I hope that the situation in California gets better soon. Right now, it seems kinda scary to be a Mormon there with so many hateful protests going on.