Comments about ‘Hundreds take to S.L. streets to protest, support Prop. 8 ban on gay marriage’

"The LDS church did not put any money into this issue."

hmmmmm.... actually, yes they did... $4,943.18

And Mormon individual donations dwarf all of the other donations made from other churches.

Gays, polygamists, bigamist, and all other alternative unions deserve to be on the same playing field as everyone traditional family unions. Children deserve the diversity that comes with having a mom and a mom or a dad and a dad. Let the experiments happen.

Fair enough. Find one person who is going to go to the trouble of getting the church's tax exempt status to be removed over $4000. Do you have receipts to verify that or is it a number you came up with from a pro gay website? I have seen so many different numbers now that it is obvious they are all bogus. Mormon individuals can make whatever donations they want. Maybe your time would be better spent to figure out how Obama can spend $100 million on a campaign and follow that up with a promise of fiscal responsibility.

Re: Landon

"If anyone can show me where in the constitution, or any of the amendments, it guarantees anyone, gay or straight, the RIGHT to marry, I'll vote for Gay Marriage next time it comes around, and I'll even donate money to the cause."

Landon, please see my previous post.

I guess you'll be voting FOR Gay marriage the next time it comes around.

See ya at the voting booth.

The church was direct in encouraging if not REQUIRING its members to obey them and donate money to the cause, gathering 4 out of every 5 dollars supporting prop 8. On top of that, they ran robotic phone messages to California from Utah thus crossing the line between spiritual institution and political machine. This accountability is the reason the church is being targeted. The argument that church funds were not used is irrelevant when the church is who gave the direct orders.

Everyone knows that Mormons controlled the outcome of the Prop 8 election in CA, and thus all the protesting and attacks are justified...

Let's do some math to see who the real threat to the future of humanity might be:

You stated the LDS church donated $4934.18

Approximately $74 million was spent on Prop 8.

Logically, this means the meddling Mormon church swayed the election by contributing a whopping 0.00668% of the total contributions!

I wonder what the Mormons were able to do with almost $5000 that had such a powerful effect on so many millions of Californians?

That kind of power for so little money means that Bill Gates or Warren Buffet easily have enough money to control the minds of the the entire world...

Yikes!!! Let's hope that they never figure out what the Mormons must already know.

I read the article and did not think that the vandalism was coming from those demonstrating.

One could "read into" was written. The Deseret News did not do anything wrong.

There are more serious things going on in Calif. this weekend than the protests. Many people are losing homes to the raging fires. Very sad!

Can we just have a truce on this for at least one week. I am tired of seeing this issue as the most commented. Let's focus on what is important this week-the BYU-Utah football game.

I hope that the loser will not demand a recount, have a dangling chad, protest Proposition 2008 (what I am calling this game), write hate mail towards the other school, protest the Mormons if BYU wins, protest the jack-Mormons if Utah wins (couldn't resist being sarcastic there and no offense to those LDS or non-LDS at Utah and BYU), etc.

I am going to be at the game with my friend. One of us will be decked out in BYU attire and the other in Utah attire. No, we are not getting married, nor did the thought ever cross our minds. We have to draw the line somewhere. But, we are civil to each other. Vote Yes on keeping Utah fans from marrying BYU fans! You never know where this atrocity could lead!

Let's try to just enjoy each others differences and enjoy a great game this week. Can we please have a truce for at least 1 week? Go Cougs/Go Utes!

RE:WADE reminds us that "individual Mormons' donations (may) have dwarfed all other churches...".(?) Homosexuals (e.g. GLBT, NAMBLA, LAMDA, etc may have donated the most to "No on Prop 8". Should people in favor of Prop 8 start persecuting homosexuals? Burn things on their lawns (e.g. Clay Aiken albums)? Boycott Broadway shows? Stop watching Bravo? I wouldn't support that. Does the "No on 8" mob think that's where all this is headed? Do you really think the 40% of California that voted with you simply because they pitied you is going to honor your boycotts or tolerate your percsecution of honorable, upstanding citizens who are their neighbors? You're just turning them against you - by the thousands - reminding them of why they voted against you last time. You're also alerting many of them to the simple fact that they got duped by the California AG's word-games with the ballot measure and they "mis-cast" their ballot. They're watching the news and vowing not to make that mistake again.

Bring on the rematch, baby. We know there'll be one. Next Vote: 70% to 30% in favor of confirming that lawful marriage is between one man and one woman.

Everyone should have the right to marry whomever they want. This is a personal issue and a family issue. My right to marry the one I love has nothing to do with your opinions.

"Civil government cannot let any group ride roughshod over others simply because their consciences tell them to do so."
-- Robert H. Jackson

"Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there."
-- Clare Booth Luce

"You have not converted a man because you have silenced him."
-- John Morley

"Free societies...are societies in motion, and with motion comes tension, dissent, friction. Free people strike sparks, and those sparks are the best evidence of freedom's existence."
-- Salman Rushdie

California voters have now twice stated by referendum that they do not want to grant government recognition of marriage to same-sex couples. Thats a pretty clear message that the people of California do not want a public policy that gives official recognition to same-sex couples, outside of partnership contracts.Id expect to see that on the ballot every two years from now on, but if its backers keep acting like lunatics, they can expect to lose by greater margins in the future.

In Cali; The late local news showed scenes of several Hispanic females in tears outside the temple trying to remove the signs desecrating the walls and fences surrounding the temple. As these individuals who according to the news were not church members removed the hate-filled signs, the mob exploded and began beating the individuals to the ground,

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the LDS Church took a stand, along with other Christian groups, to preserve the insitution of "marriage" as between 1 man and 1 woman. This passed by a majority vote. It seems that the in-your-face, 'bashing' response is geared to intimidate not just members but the viewing public into giving in, with the implication that whoever opposes them will be the next focus of their ire.
Once same-sex marriage is 'legal', will the government then attempt to REQUIRE churches to marry same-sex couples, regardless of that church's moral opposition? There are already gay unions which have all the temporal benefits which "marriage" has from the state. Isn't this continual pushing because they essentially want the state to force the Churches to say homosexuality is "good", and "approved". No matter what the government does, I do not see that ever happening.

it was on the news in Utah that a Catholic Bishop who had been in Salt Lake previously had written to LDS President Monson to ask him to specifically ask members to consider giving their time to work on this moral issue. It's rare for the LDS Church to comment on any election process at all beyond "Be involved in your community, learn the issues and make your decisions a matter of prayer between you and the Lord". It may become even more necessary to work together in the future as lobbying groups attempt to legislate what ought to remain moral issues.

Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, told the LA Times that a postcard will be sent to the president of the Mormon Church for every $5 donated, condemning "the reprehensible role the Church of Latter-day Saints leadership played in denying all Californians equal rights under the law."

They are just making a bigger deal about the LDS church than what it needs to be. It wasn't the church who made the vote. Yes they may have put money into the cause, and I most certaintly don't think that the LDS church paid people to vote for the prop. I think that it was the state of California as a whole that got the prop passed.

It is interesting that these protests are happening after everyone in California had voted on Proposition 8.

Now that Proposition 8 failed, all the riots, the dirty letters, etc just goes to show that a loser is generally a sore loser. These protests should have been from the beginning about how it should have even be worthy of a vote by the American people. Why did they wait until after the vote to start their displays.

Wasn't able to fix my error. Proposition 8 passed, not failed. Sorry.

But I am glad it passed. This is one thing I am grateful for that Obama was running. He brought out many many passionate voters.

This has all gotten way out of hand. Why doesn't anyone realize that Mormons didn't pass Proposition 8? As Mormons only make up about 2 percent of the population in California, it's a mathematical impossibility! Additionally, not every Mormon voted in favor of the amendment.

According to the L.A. Times, protesters are now focusing their anger on the black community as well as anyone else who voted in favor of the Proposition. Who are the bigots now? Yes, you have the right to be critical and criticism shouldn't involve epiteths. What all this amounts to is harrassment. I don't understand why a group so focused on tolerance and being accepted is now the one being so intolerable of other people's beliefs and lifestyles.

Take it to the courts, not the streets!