MORMONS’ MASSIVE MONEY PUSH TO PASS PROP-8, BUT GAY MONEY IS LOW
By LEO E. LAURENCE
Copyright © 2008 by Leo E. Laurence • All rights reserved
Mormons dramatically lead the campaign to pass Proposition 8, to ban Gay marriages with a state Constitutional amendment. They gave a staggering 77% of all the money raised as of October 1.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mormon Church members were told that “their souls would be in jeopardy” if they did not donate money to support Proposition 8.
Over 60,000 Mormon families have succumbed to the pressure by their church, and have given over $20 million.
Non-Mormon donations are over $6 million since July 1, including nearly $2 million from Howard Ahmanson of Newport Beach and other private sources.
Threatened “Outings”
Meanwhile, leaders of the Yes-on-8 campaign are threatening to “out” businesses that have do-nated to the “No on 8” campaign.
Give us money or we will identify you as opponents of traditional marriage, says offers made to do-nors of the opposition.
“Make a donation of a like amount to ProtectMarriage.com,” reads the letter.
“Were you to elect not to donate comparably” to your donation to Marriage Equality, the name of your company will be published.”
In other words, they will be “outed.”
The Mormon Church, however, has a skeleton in its “closet.”
A former Mormon bishop, Antonio A. Feliz, who was excommunicated by his church for being Gay, gave Zenger’s Newsmagazine an exclusive interview in 1995. He revealed that he had seen documents in the official Mormon Church archives that suggest that the church’s esteemed founder, Joseph Smith, had actually performed same-sex marriages.
TV ads by the Yes on 8 campaign are blatantly false, factually. They claim that same-sex marriages will be taught in elementary schools unless Proposition 8 passes.
That’s not true, says Professor Morris A. Thurston of Brigham Young University, a Mormon school.
“Prop-8 has nothing to do with education or teaching,” Prof. Thurston said.
The outcome of the battle over Proposition 8 is expected to be very close, largely because of the mas-sive and distorted campaign by the Mormons.
For comment, contact Leo Laurence at (619) 757-4909 or at leopowerhere@msn.com
