Protests against Proposition 8 supporters

Opponents of Proposition 8 protest the LDS Church's support of the proposition in front of the Newport Beach California Temple.

Protests against Proposition 8 supporters in California took place starting in November 2008. These included prominent protests against the Roman Catholic church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which collaboratively campaigned in favor of California's Proposition 8 through volunteer and financial support for the measure.^[1] The proposition was a voter referendum that amended the state constitution to recognize marriage only as being between one man and one woman, thus banning same-sex marriage, which was legal in the state following a May 2008 California Supreme Court case.^[2]

The ballot

Proposition 8 added "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" to the California Constitution.^[3] Proposition 8 was the most expensive proposition in United States history and sharply divided social conservatives and social liberals, as part of the ongoing American culture wars. The ballot initiative was approved by a majority (52%) of voters. Immediately same-sex marriages were halted and the legal status of the 18,000 same-sex couples was thrown into question. Supporters of the proposition included a coalition of religious and social conservatives that felt the court ruling had redefined marriage.

Those opposed to Proposition 8 argued that same-sex couples deserved the same public recognition and marriage rights that other couples are afforded, and that equality could not be achieved without state recognition in the form of marriage. On November 19, the California Supreme Court accepted three lawsuits challenging Proposition 8 but denied the requests to stay its enforcement.^[4]

Candlelight vigils and pickets

As a result of the proposition's passage, there were a number of organized as well as autonomous protests directed against supporters of the proposition including marches, actions, vigils, boycotts and vandalism. The actions brought awareness to marriage rights issues for LGBT people and the role of tax-exempt churches in this political campaign. There has also been renewed debate in LGBT communities whether boycotting companies or organizations is an appropriate and effective response toward the proposition's supporters.^[5][6][7]

Many anti-Proposition 8 protests, particularly those targeting the support of specific groups that supported Proposition 8, took the form of pickets or candlelight vigils.^[8] A candlelight vigil by about 600 mothers of LGBT children was held at the Salt Lake Temple of the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, shortly following the passage of Proposition 8.^[9]

Boycotts

Following the passage of the proposition, opponents obtained donation lists of those who had supported the ballot measure by contributing to the "Yes on 8" campaign, published the list, organized an activism group, and began calling for boycotts of the supporters' places of work.^[5][6][10]

• Scott Eckern, Artistic Director, California Musical Theatre. Resigned on November 15, 2008. In a statement, Eckern pledged to donate $1,000 to LGBT lobbying group Human Rights Campaign to match what he donated to Yes on 8.^[6][10][11]
• Richard Raddon, Director, Los Angeles Film Festival. Resigned on November 25, 2008, after the LA Film Festival publicly distanced itself from Raddon's actions.^[10] Raddon donated $1,500 to Yes on 8.^[6][12]
• Marjorie Christoffersen, Manager, El Coyote Restaurant, Los Angeles, a lifelong Mormon, the niece of El Coyote’s founder, and the daughter of its current owner.^[13] The restaurant was popular as a late-night hangout for gay people, but was picketed after it was learned that Christofferson had donated $100 to the Yes on 8 campaign.^[7] Christofferson said she felt pressured to resign but did not.^[14][15]
• The Sundance Film Festival, based in Park City, Utah has been the target of calls for boycotts.^[10] Utah ranked second only to California itself for total donations in support of Proposition 8, while it ranked sixth for opposing donations, behind California and such heavily populated states as New York, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.^[16] Over the last two and a half weeks before the election, the Yes on 8 campaign received donations totaling $5 million coming from Utah residents.^[17]
• The Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego after owner Doug Manchester donated $125,000 in support of Proposition 8. The boycott was against the Manchester Hyatt hotel specifically, and not against the Hyatt Hotel chain as a whole.^[18]
• Also targeted was Manchester's friend and fellow San Diego businessman Terry Caster, who persuaded Manchester to donate the $125,000 and who himself gave almost $700,000 to support Proposition 8. Caster built and owns the A-1 Self Storage Company, which gay-rights groups have also boycotted.^[19]

Claims of religious bigotry

Some public figures, writers, media commentators, and individuals have expressed concern over the actions and the implications of targeting supporters of the proposition.^[5][7] Supporters of the measure, such as Kathryn Lopez, editor of the National Review Online, and Jonah Goldberg, a Los Angeles Times columnist, have referred to some of the backlash as religious bigotry, especially since many of those targeted are members of the LDS Church.^{[5][20][21][22]} Gregg Araki, an independent filmmaker who is gay, Jeff McDonald and John Marelius of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and others have articulated arguments depicting this characterization as misleading and provided possible justification of such actions.^[7][22]

Various individuals and groups have decried these actions by those opposed to Proposition 8:

• A full-page New York Times advertisement titled "No Mob Veto" read in part, "When thugs ... terrorize any place of worship, especially those of a religious minority, responsible voices need to speak clearly: Religious wars are wrong; they are also dangerous." The advertisement, paid for by Washington, D.C.-based The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, was signed by law professors, diplomats, civil rights activists, and heads of religious organizations.^[23] The Human Rights Campaign responded to these ads, opposing violence but claiming that the ads distort the truth when "they say we are in favor of mob intimidation and violence", suggesting that the ads paint the entire opposition to Proposition 8 with the actions of a few.^[24] A full-page New York Times ad released by Truth Wins Out in response to the ad goes further, accusing the original ad of "blatant falsehoods", as well as "spotlighting the religious bigotry of the ad's very own signers."^[25]
• Several opinion pieces condemn the tactics including "Editorial: Protest and civility in a democracy" from the Dallas Morning News,^[26] "So Much for Tolerance" from Chuck Colson of the Christian Post,^[27] and "California and Thank-A-Mormon Day" from John Reynolds of Biola University.^[28]

Death threats and vandalism

Before the vote, Alan Autry (the mayor of Fresno) received an email containing death threats against both himself and Cornerstone Church Pastor Jim Franklin. This caused police to assign the pastor officers for his protection and motivated the mayor to obtain a bodyguard. According to Fresno's Police Chief Jerry Dyer, the email "did state as to why that threat was made and it was stemming from prop 8." Both Autry and Franklin were prominent Proposition 8 supporters. As of August 12, 2009, no arrests have been made.^[29][30]

In the ten days following the November 4 election, seven houses of worship in Utah and ten buildings of the LDS Church in the Sacramento area were targets of vandalism, such as graffiti and meeting house glass doors shattered. According to the LDS Church spokesperson for the Sacramento area, the vandalism that they experienced in the ten days after the election was more than they usually get in an entire year.^{[5][31][32][33]} A copy of the Book of Mormon, an LDS religious text, was found burning at the front of one of the church's meetinghouses.^[31][33] The FBI investigated these events to determine whether a violation of civil rights had occurred.^[32]

An affiliate group of the radical trans/queer organization Bash Back! claims credit for pouring glue into the locks of an LDS meetinghouse and spray painting its walls. A Web posting signed by Bash Back!’s Olympia chapter said, "The Mormon church (just like most churches) is a cesspool of filth. It is a breeding ground for oppression of all sorts and needs to be confronted, attacked, subverted and destroyed."^[34] According to the Chicago Tribune, the acts of vandalism against the LDS meetinghouse appeared to be in retaliation for support of Proposition 8.^[34]

The Anti-Defamation League released a statement condemning the "defacement and destruction of property."^[35]

Anthrax hoax

In November 2008, the United States Postal Service delivered envelopes containing white powder to two LDS temples (one in Los Angeles and one in Salt Lake City) and to the Knights of Columbus's national headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, prompting a hazardous materials response and a federal domestic terrorism investigation.^[33][36][37] The envelope to the Knights of Columbus had a postmark from California.^[38] Both organizations were heavy backers of Proposition 8. The FBI has determined the substances were not biological agents, and FBI spokesman Special Agent Juan Becerra stated, "We've got to follow the evidence, and at this point we have not received anything that would lead us to believe the opponents of Prop. 8 are behind any kind of terroristic activity. It would be irresponsible to say that at this point."^[36][39][40] (Anthrax toxin was used in the 2001 anthrax attacks against lawmakers and media members, killing five people. Since then, the FBI has investigated more than 1,000 anthrax hoaxes modeled on the mailings, which usually turn out to be harmless.^[41][42])

The LDS Church and many newspapers blamed opponents of the marriage ban for sending the hoax mailings, while a group that also supported the measure condemned "acts of domestic terrorism against our supporters."^[41] LGBT rights groups, such as Equality Utah and Equality California, have spoken out against the use of violence in protests, and note that the source of the "white powder" mailings has not been determined.^[41][43]

See also

• Americans United for Separation of Church and State
• Criticism of Mormonism
• Criticism of the Roman Catholic Church
• Join the Impact
• November 15, 2008 anti-Proposition 8 protests
• Post-election events of Proposition 8 (2008)
• Separation of church and state in the United States

References

1. Catholics, Mormons allied to pass Prop. 8
2. Dolan, Maura (May 27, 2009). "California high court upholds Prop. 8". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
3. "Text of Proposed Laws" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2008.
4. "California Supreme Court Takes Action on Proposition 8" (PDF). Judicial Council of California. 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
5. Ostrom, Mary Anne (2008-11-13). "Protests, boycotts erupt in the wake of Prop. 8's passage". The Mercury News.
6. Abramowitz, Rachel (2008-11-23). "Liberal Hollywood ponders next step in fight for same-sex marriage". Los Angeles Times.
7. Weinstein, Steve (2008-11-25). "Are We Being Bullies? Debate Rages Over Boycotts". Edge. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
8. Maher, Sean (2008-11-10). "Anti-Prop 8 demonstrators protest near Mormon temple". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
9. Blankenfeld, Budy (2008-11-02). "LDS moms hold vigil against Prop. 8". ABC4. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
10. Hofler, Robert (2008-11-17). "Same-Sex Activists Target Sundance". Variety.
11. "Scott Eckern Releases Statement and Announces Resignation as Artistic Director for California Musical Theatre". CMT Press Release. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
12. Abramowitz, Rachel (2008-11-25). "L.A. Film Festival director Richard Raddon resigns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
13. http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2008/11/13/el-coyote-boycott-mormon-managers-explanation-makes-it-worse
14. http://www.frontiersla.com/News/Context/Story.aspx?id=1251277
15. Carlton, Jim (2008-12-27). "Gay Activists Boycott Backers of Prop 8". The Wall Street Journal.
16. "Utah money helped push Prop 8 spending to historic levels". The Salt Lake Tribune. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
17. "State officials to investigate Mormon church's Prop. 8 campaign activities". The Mercury News. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
18. Ainsworth, Bill (2008-07-10). "Gay rights groups to boycott Manchester Grand Hyatt". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
19. Karger, Fred (2009-07-18). "First Anniversary of Boycott Against Doug Manchester". The Huffington Post.
20. Lopez, Kathryn (2008-11-30). "Mormons in the crosshairs". The Register-Mail.
21. Goldberg, Jonah (2008-12-02). "An ugly attack on Mormons". Los Angeles Times.
22. McDonald, Jeff (2008-11-15). "Prop. 8 result energizes gay-rights supporters". San Diego Union-Tribune.
23. "Web Archive capture of ad text from official website, NoMobVeto.org". Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
24. "Demand the Truth". 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
25. "Lies". Truth Wins Out. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
26. "Editorial: Protest and civility in a democracy". Dallas Morning News. 2008-11-19.
27. Colson, Chuck (2008-11-15). "So Much for Tolerance".
28. Reynolds, John Mark. "California and Thank-A-Mormon Day". Biola University.
29. "Prop 8 Death Threats". ABC Local Fresno News TV30.
30. "Death threats against pastor in wake of Prop. 8 vote". 2008-11-09. Archived from the original on November 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
31. Gehrke, Steve (2008-11-24). "More than mischief: Are recent acts of church vandalism tied to bigotry?". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
32. Gehrke, Steve (2008-11-22). "Wall tagged outside Farmington LDS building". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
33. Garza, Jennifer (2008-11-14). "Feds investigate vandalism at Mormon sites". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009.
34. "Radical Gay Activist Group Plans More Disruptions". Chicago Tribune. November 20, 2008. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009.
35. "ADL Condemns Criminal Activity Targeting Religious Institutions That Supported Proposition 8". Anti-Defamation League. 2008-11-10.
36. Winslow, Ben (2008-12-10). "FBI to run more tests on mystery substance mailed to LDS Church". Deseret News.
37. Winslow, Ben (2009-11-17). "FBI sending suspicious powder to headquarters". Deseret News.
38. "Suspicious White Powder sent to Catholic Organization". ABC channel 4 (KTVX).
39. "Powder scares at 2 LDS temples, Catholic Plant". Deseret News. November 14, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
40. "White powder sent to Mormon temples in Utah, LA". USA Today. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
41. "Mormon church blames powder hoax on gays: Leaders say opponents of marriage ban are behind the mailings". Associated Press. 2008-12-24.
42. Anthrax hoaxes pile up, as does their cost By Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, March 8, 2009.
43. Ziegler, Elizabeth (2008-11-14). "GLBT Advocates Condemn Attacks on LDS Church". KCPW. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008.

External links

• Media related to Protests against Proposition 8 supporters at Wikimedia Commons