Mission Statement Mormons and Prop 8 Mormons and Gays Sundance Festival Who to Contact Move the Fesival to where? Public Votes on Civil Rights Things You Can do to Help

Despite strong condemnation of Proposition 8 by California’s Republican governor, both of California’s United States Senators, the Mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland and Sacramento, along with over one thousand additional: publicly elected officials, community, religious, political groups and organizations; The League of Women Voters, the NAACP, and EVERY MAJOR NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA, Proposition 8 passed on November 4th, 2008, by a slim margin.

The opponents of same-sex civil marriage, in a campaign built on deception, dishonesty and inaccuracy, (just months after the California Supreme Court granted gays and lesbians the right to marry), initiated and funded the most offensive political ballot measure in United States history - an effort to remove existing civil rights, by manipulating California voters and writing discrimination against one group (and only one group) of people, gays and lesbians, into the state constitution.

Among their many lies, they:

  • Falsely stated that grade school children would be required to be taught about same-sex marriage. This, despite the fact that both California’s Superintendent of Schools and The California’s Teacher’s Association said that was NOT true, while PUBLICLY ENDORSING a “no” vote on Proposition 8.
  • Targeted African-Americans in California with a mailing picturing Barack Obama, implying that he was in favor of Proposition 8, when in fact he also PUBLICLY ENDORSED a “no” vote on Proposition 8, calling it “DIVISIVE AND DISCRIMINATORY.”
  • Dishonestly said that California churches would be FORCED to perform same-sex marriages, and those that didn’t would lose their tax-exempt status.

Yes on 8's deceptive campaign tactics and outright lies they knowingly made, tricked voters into eliminating the rights of others.

In June 2008, the LDS First Presidency, its highest governing body, announced its support for Proposition 8 in A LETTER READ AT EVERY CONGREGATION. MEMBERS WERE ASKED TO DONATE THEIR "MEANS AND TIME" TO THE EFFORT TO UNDO A MAY 2008 COURT DECISION THAT LEGALIZED GAY MARRIAGE in California.

In addition, the Mormon Church, in an attempt to pass Proposition 8:

  • Flooded California with ground troops for the fight to pass Prop.8 - “Protect Marriage” estimated that Mormons made up 80 percent to 90 percent of the early volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts
  • Organized phone banks from Utah and Idaho
  • Sent direct mail to voters
  • Transported people to California over several weekends
  • Used the LDS Press Office to send out multiple news releases to promote their activities to nonmembers
  • Walked California precincts leading up to an election day surge of 100,000 Mormon volunteers that went door-to-door to canvass non-Church-member voters
  • Ran a speakers bureau
  • Distributed thousands of lawn signs and other campaign material
  • Organized a "surge to election day"
  • Encouraged and transported church leaders to California
  • Set up elaborate web sites
  • Produced at least 9 commercials and 4 other video broadcasts all in support of Prop 8
  • Conducted at least 2 SATELLITE SIMULCASTS OVER 5 WESTERN STATES.

Under California Election Law organizations such as the Mormon Church are not required to report activities if they strictly constitute "member communication." The church however went far beyond "member communication," and instead specifically targeted California’s 17 million voters. By not reporting any of these non-monetary contributions, the Mormon Church violated the Political Reform Act. All of these UNREPORTED contributions by the Mormon Church were ON TOP of its massive fund-raising effort; the largest ever undertaken on a social issue ballot initiative.

The Mormon Church made the Yes on Prop 8 campaign a national priority beginning on June 20, 2008 when Church President Thomas Monson sent his now famous letter to be read in EVERY CHURCH BUILDING, where he said, "We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment (Prop 8) by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman."

Here’s just one example of how influential the Mormon Church was on this issue:

Pam and Rick Patterson are Mormons who live in a house in Folsom, California. Rick drives his 10-year-old Honda Civic to his job while his wife stays at home with their 5 children. The seven people in their family sleep in a 3 bedrooms. Yet, while trying to support a family of seven, and save for college for their 5 children in a horrible economy, they still thought it was SO important to belittle the lives of gays and lesbians that they withdrew $50,000 from their life savings and donated it to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign.