Mormon and Catholic organizations attack California gay marriage laws with lies

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October 10, 12:43 PM

by Elizabeth Oakes, Wedding Examiner

 

 

    Christopher Columbus: "I have nothing to do with this."

So much for religious virtue.

A new ad campaign heavily sponsored by Mormon and Catholic organizations like the Knights of Columbus makes untruthful statements about the effects of marriage equality laws in an attempt to persuade voters to repeal same-sex marriage rights in California.  The heavily-played television and radio ads claim that churches will be forced to perform same-sex marriages and could either be sued or lose their tax exemptions if they refuse.  The ad campaign seems to have been persuasive; current polls show anti-gay-marriage forces are ahead with less than four weeks before the election.

Though there are lots of news stories about this Yes on 8 campaign, I haven’t seen one mainstream media outlet point out the campaign’s misrepresentation of facts.  Is no one else outraged that lies--lies designed to deprive others of their civil and personal rights--are being widely perpetuated by religious organizations who paint themselves as being trustworthy and on higher moral ground than others?  

Our laws protect the rights of religious groups to participate in the political arena--just like the rights of any other special interest group--but seeing organizations attempting to inject their religious beliefs into the civil sphere is unsettling (and ironic: they claim the government is interfering with them, when in fact, at the moment, it’s the other way around.) 

The separation of church and state also protects religious beliefs, including many practices that are considered discriminatory under civil law--such as only allowing males to be priests. If such practices were not protected, the Catholic and Mormon churches would have been forced to allow women to be priests long ago.  Has this happened?  No.  Will churches be forced to perform gay marriages?  No.  It’s a lie.  And that people are being persuaded by this lie is also unsettling.

Here’s the truth: the government cannot force any church to perform same-sex marriages, nor will churches lose their tax status if they refuse to do so.  The churches who have funded this ad are lying.  Anyone of true ethical character--churchgoing or not--should find these lies very, very disturbing, as well as the media silence that has followed. Is everyone afraid to call them out on their behavior for fear of being accused of being anti-Mormon or anti-Catholic?  Isn’t anyone out there brave enough to speak out?

The hypocrisy of those who hold themselves out as being guardians of truth and tradition while egregiously misrepresenting truth for political, financial, and social gain should be obvious.  And purportedly conservative religious groups consider this not a political battle, but a biblical one.  However, I seem to recall that the Bible states that believers are not supposed to bear false witness (a big no-no according to Christ, who btw never said one word about homosexuality.) 

Yet, here we have churches “lying for the Lord" in the media, and we see just how flexible "truth" can be in the mouths of those who claim to be on a political--or holy--mission.  As an American, I won’t deny anyone’s right to say what they please, truthful or not--but I also can’t deny the social harm it causes, and I am not obliged to be complicit in these lies by politely keeping mum.

So I’ll say it, since no one else seems to be willing to:

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on LDS and the Knights of Columbus for sponsoring abuses of the political process, distorting the truth, and abandoning any claim to their purported "morality" with their actions.  The Yes on Prop 8 ads claim that same-sex marriage will be taught to small children in schools; that’s another misrpresentation, but what are these gay-bashing campaigners representing to little children right now?  That lying and manipulation are right and virtuous, and that as long as you win it’s okay to cheat and lie.  This is moral leadership???  Shame, shame, shame.  

And shame, shame, shame on all of us if we let them get away with it. I call upon all people--believers and unbelievers alike--to push back  for truth by voting NO on 8.  We need to show these groups it’s not okay to lie to further their aims, no matter how justified they feel about doing it.  It’s not just about preserving marriage equality--it’s about maintaining values of honesty and justice in our society, and telling partisan liars that their pants are on hellfire, and they should wake up and smell the corduroy if they really believe they’ll be held accountable at the end of their days. 

Until next time, a sweet and long life to you all, and don’t forget to vote your conscience (not what you see on TV.)

P.S.  If you'd like to read more about "lying for the Lord" and the involvement of the Mormon church in U.S. politics, I highly recommend John Krakauer's book, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.  Just like his other well-known works Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, it's a fascinating and frightening read.

Elizabeth Oakes welcomes your feedback at weddingexaminer@gmail.com.

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