More on Proposition 8

The following is a piece written by one of my favorite college professors. No wonder I liked him so much!

Proposition 8 and the Mormons
Tuesday night I was moved. We were all moved. My family and I had just watched as the first African American eloquently and humbly accepted election to his country’s highest office. There was a sense of history in our living room. My kids knew it. I could see it on their faces. Then we changed the channel.

I was looking for news on California’s Proposition 8. At the same time we were electing the first black president, and in many ways for the first time fulfilling the American promise of equal rights for all, Californians were voting to take rights away from about 10% of their fellow citizens. Until Tuesday, California had marriage equality. Proposition 8 will end that.

I was disappointed to see Proposition 8 ahead on Tuesday night, and further saddened at Wednesday’s news of it passing. My sadness was not just for my gay relatives and friends, but also for my country. There was bitterness to the irony. Just as one group sees a dream fulfilled, another has a dream deferred. Just as black Americans symbolically achieve full citizenship, we rob gay Americans of that same. I was further disappointed because of how it all went down. I grew up a Mormon kid in Salt Lake City. It was a great place to grow up. I had a stable family and a religious community who cared for me. The Mormon congregation instilled in me values of charity and Christian love. And to this day, my Mormon friends are some of the most compassionate people I know. Yet, "Slate" reports that at least $14 million in support for Proposition 8 came from individual Mormons. One Lindon, Utah, man alone gave $1 million.

The Mormon network made possible much of the grassroots organizing. If Mormons are anything, they are organized. Proposition 8 supporters tapped into local congregations, word came down from Salt Lake City, and Mormons united to talk to friends, go door to door, and get the word out. I anticipated Mormons [supporting] Proposition 8. The Mormon community is usually the tail light on the caboose of social change. Black men could not hold the Mormon priesthood until 1978 and women are still barred from doing so.

But what I did not anticipate was the enthusiasm with which Mormons would take up the issue. I can think of a dozen causes that deserve such enthusiasm. There are plenty of hungry, sick, and poor Americans on whom to focus such energy and resources. But instead the cause was discrimination. What hurts me the most is that I know these people. I love these people. They are good, hardworking, honest citizens. To be fair, Mormons are not all of one mind. To their credit, many active, believing Mormons were troubled by the advice from their leaders and did not support Proposition 8. They were as disappointed in their church as I was.

This story has a final irony: Mormonisms’ own marriage history. Utah was denied statehood until Mormons gave up the practice of polygamy. In short, Mormonism has been the victim of marriage discrimination before, but for some reason the lesson was lost. I am still hopeful, however. The Mormon view on marriage equality, the nation’s view on marriage equality, will change. Bigotry dies out. A younger generation takes over. People change their mind. After all, we just elected our first black president.

-David Sumner
Oregon