Candace

Talmadge

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June 27, 2008

Mormons vs. Gay Marriage: So It’s One Man and One Woman Now, Is It?

The irony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) wading into California’s same-sex marriage debate is too delicious to ignore.

Earlier this week, the church sent a letter signed by its president, Thomas B. Monson, to all Mormon bishops in California. The document refers to the California Marriage Protection Act on the November 4 ballot, a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit the legal recognition of same-sex unions so recently won by a California Supreme Court decision.

The letter is to be read aloud during June 29 services. In part, it states, “We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to ensure that marriage in California is legally defined as between a man and a woman.” 

The document stops short of explicitly telling church members how to vote on the proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The Mormons probably can slide by on a technicality should the IRS ever inquire as to whether their church is engaging in political activities banned by its non-profit exemption status. (Not much danger of that, however. In the current administration, the IRS tends to investigate only those religious institutions that voice opposition to President Bush or his policies.) 

This latest LDS political missive also declares that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God.” A man and a woman, singular. A fascinating declaration from the one Western religion notorious for polygamy. That is, marriage between one man and one woman and one more woman and yet another woman, etc. The LDS church flip-flopped on this issue only when it became clear that Utah would not gain statehood without such a reversal. 

Apparently the definition of marriage isn’t quite as unyielding and unchanging as some gay-marriage opponents would have us all think. 

Still, if marriage is between a man and a woman (singular), why isn’t the LDS church equally exhorting its members to efforts against those who call themselves Mormons and still practice polygamy (rebranded as plural marriage)? Where’s the institutional outrage over this situation? 

Instead, Mormon officials in Utah and other states piously plead that they have thrown polygamists out of the church while winking at the practice in private. In more than 100 years, there have been precious few prosecutions for engaging in polygamy after it was outlawed. 

Certainly, it’s no one’s business but hers if an adult woman consents to get-in-line, take-a-number partnering. Plural marriage, however, has devolved into a religious fig-leaf for sex with underage girls. And it’s amazing how those who rail incessantly against marriage between two gays or two lesbians are totally silent when it comes to middle-aged polygamists “marrying” multiple underage females in order to impregnate them repeatedly. 

Which harms marriage more – same-sex unions or polygamy? The accurate answer is divorce. Same-sex marriage opponents are equally mum on this subject. Perhaps that’s because so many of them are, well, divorced.

Diving into politics is nothing new for the LDS church, which has a lengthy history of legally questionable political activities. Back in the mid-1970s, the Mormons as a church fought hard against the Equal Rights Amendment, which was not ratified in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah – states with high populations of LDS members. The LDS church also campaigned extensively back in 2000 when California approved Proposition 22, which was designed to prevent the state from legally recognizing gay unions formed in other states. The courts subsequently overturned that law as unconstitutional.

Those who oppose the California Marriage Protection Act would do well to note the new official Mormon stance supporting the amendment. The LDS church has proven to be a formidable force in past political issues, and there are more than 750,000 Mormons in California, according to the LDS church itself. Whether it will prevail in this round, now that same-sex marriage is taking place in the Golden State and the sky hasn’t fallen, won’t be answered until the election.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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