As more states take up the debate on same-sex marriage, some advocates of legalization are taking a very specific lesson from California, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dominated both fundraising and door-knocking to pass a ballot initiative that barred such unions. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
It's no surprise that Mormons oppose gay marriage --they worked hard against it in California -- but this story makes it clear that the church has worked to hide its involvement. Just as important, the story shows that proponents of gay marriage are working to exploit anti-Mormon sentiment. That's useful information.
The ad was rejected by sites in three other states, including Maine, where the Kennebec Journal informed Californians Against Hate that the copy “borders on insulting and denigrating a whole set of people based on their religion.”
I am the retired editor of the Kennebec Journal. I had not known that the paper rejected the ad until I read it in the Washington Post. As editor, an advertising decision would not have been my responsibility. As a reader, I applaud it.
The proponents’ strategy is grounded in a stubborn reality: While the number of states legalizing same-sex marriage is slowly increasing — Maine recently became the fifth — in every case the agent of change was either a court or a legislature. Voters have rejected the idea wherever it has appeared on a ballot.
good background info, providing context.
Until I read the article I had not known that the Kennebec Journal in Maine, where I was executive editor until I retired in 2006, had rejected an anti-Mormon ad as bordering on "insulting and denigrating a whole set of people based on their religion." A good decision, I think -- no matter what your view on gay marriage.