Mormons for Marriage

Several friends and participants at Mormons for Marriage recently participated in a panel session at Sunstone West, sharing their personal experiences and insights with Proposition 8 as it played out in California.  “Proposition in All Things: Post-Election Perspectives on 8″ answered the questions, “Where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going with regard to Proposition 8 and the LDS Church’s foray into Internet campaigning and community building?”

The presentations were videotaped and are summarized below and available at the MormonsforMarriage YouTube channel.

Morris Thurston moderated the panel and framed the discussion.

Lisa Fahey shared her very personal story about why she felt the need to get involved with Mormons for Marriage, and what it meant to her to have a community of Saints and friends when her family disagreed with her political activism.

Leland Chan discussed the LDS Church’s main arguments from a legal perspective, focusing on the following points:
- The government should not redefine marriage (civil v. religious marriage)
- The church and its members are being singled out for exercising their rights of free speech (not a free speech issue)
- Gay marriage offends the rights of the religious (what is the extent of religious liberty)
- Legal recognition of gay marriage infringes on the church’s religious affairs  (Constitution protects church autonomy)
- A handful of judges should not overturn the will of the majority (nature of  equal protection)

Part 1 of Leland’s presentation is embedded here:

Part 2 of Leland’s presentation is embedded here:

Kaimipono Wenger discussed some more legal ramifications, particularly the questions raised by the early March hearings questioning whether Prop 8 was an amendment or revision to the state Constitution.  He also touched a bit on the tax-exempt status situation and on exactly what changes were effected as a result of both invoking and revoking the rights of same-sex couples to marry.

Part 1 of Kaimi’s presentation is here:

Part 2 of Kaimi’s presentation is here:

Laura Compton compared the results of Proposition 22 and Proposition 8 and provided some information about the timeline of events surrounding Prop 8.  She also discussed the organization of the Yes on 8 campaign, how the LDS church fed the grass-roots efforts and what role the internet played in communicating what was happening and in creating communities both real and virtual.

Part 1 of Laura’s presentation is here:

Part 2 of Laura’s presentation is here:

Part 3 of Laura’s presentation is here:

Clark Pingree shared his experiences and viewpoints on proposition 8 as well as the personal impact the Church’s involvement in gay marriage issues has had on him, an openly gay Mormon.

Part 1 of Clark’s presentation is here:

Part 2 of Clark’s presentation is here:

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