I have heard the same refrain from most Mormons throughout the long and arduous debate over Prop 8 and same-sex marriage. Proponents of Prop 8 claim that it their support has nothing to do with discrimination. They always claim to be in favor of civil unions and gay rights, just so long as the word marriage is not used. They claim that they have absolutely no ill-will towards gays. In fact, they also seem to have a bunch of friends who are gay, at least, they claim as much.
Well, if that's the case (that you are so in favor of civil unions), then why did the predominantly Mormon state of Utah pass a constitutional amendment in 2004 explicitly denying gay couples the opportunity to have civil unions? Here is the text of the amendment (link):
- Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman.
- No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.
So, what are we to make of the pro-civil union rhetoric that we have been hearing out of the church and its membership for the past few months? Does this mean that Mormons have changed their opinions about civil unions and domestic partnerships? Does this mean that members of the church are going to line up in support of providing all of the legal benefits of marriage to civil unions? Or was it just election-time rhetoric?
We shall see, and we won't have to wait very long. A gay-rights group called Equality Utah (link) has picked up the fight here in Utah. They are taking the church at its words and are introducing 5 bills into the Utah legislature to secure legal rights for the those who wish to enter into civil unions (link). They have called on the church to make good on their statements by aiding in their efforts to secure these rights.
The church has definitely painted itself into a corner. In order to not come off as bigots, the church was forced to make certain concessions in the fight for Prop 8. Those concessions are coming back to haunt them. If they come out in opposition to these legislative measures, they will look very hypocritical. I highly doubt they would come out in favor of the measures. That would be such a 180 degree reversal. Though, I would welcome such a reversal of policy. Ultimately, they will probably remain silent on the issue. Equality Utah has been trying to remove this option from the LDS church by actively and openly asking for their support. If the church does remain silent on the issue, that itself will speak volumes.
1 comments:
I think people telling you that they are for civil unions and have friends and family members who are gay isn't a very accurate sampling of how most people feel in Utah, plus a lot of us might be outside Utah. I don't think that Utah will ever approve civil unions because then the polygamists will push their issues.
I still stand by my beliefs that all people should be allowed to participate in any kinds of benefits that any married couple would have access to. I have a cousin in Ohio who is in a civil union and she and her partner have twin little boys, her mother (my uncle's ex wife) is a lesbian, I have an uncle that passed away a few years ago that was a gay man but was always in the closet because of our Mormon beliefs, I have a very dear friend in Indiana that used to work for me who is gay, and numerous friends here in the Seattle area who are gay/lesbian. So I do understand the feelings in the gay community about this. In fact I can't really say that I'm totally against marriage for this community, all I was stating about Prop 8 is that any real "rights" didn't seem to be being taken away from them, it was just wording in the law....the word marriage. I believe that everyone should have to choice and decision of who they want to spend their life with, and that's still not being taken away.
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