[Proposition 8] Ah shit I can't believe I didn't see this coming! The LDS church gets the high five from their long time deep-fried southern baptist foes (and others) for helping defeat gay marriage in California, according to a trib story pointing out an online thank you petition signed by over 3000 Prop 8 supporters to LDS Prez' Monson.
All this time I figured the elders of the Zion command center were making a ginormous mistake extending so much uncharacteristic political squeeze into the politics of another state. I figured their getting up to their elbows into the politics of the Prop 8 debate with tens of millions in donations, phone banks and ward house warnings would blow up in their collective faces and ignite a gay revolution.
A revolution uniting disparate equality groups into a unified, well organized machine--with GLBT groups from across the country coming together like an enormous gay Voltron firing a wrathful rainbow upon the dark iniquities of social injustice with laser-like intensity.
Let there be light I say!
And what was there? Instead of unity we've seen the likes of Dan Savage asking to boycott Utah. We have Kroger brand anthrax sugar showing up at LDS temples and church building vandalism across the state and country.
But there is light too. The equality movement still has momentum of course and shouldn't be counted out yet. Especially with advocacy groups at home and elsewhere putting the pressure on for more sex orientation and identity equity on a number of fronts from housing to employment non-discrimination. The problem is that while this revolution is still coming together, the LDS position is not only as strong as before but is now starting to win over their long time evangelical foes. The Baptists, who would never invite the Mormons into their cool Christians club before, have now signed onto an online petition thanking the LDS church for its support on the issue.
It's beginning to look like this last election was a revolution. But with the Obama-phenomena magically blue-ifying states across the conservative south and west, perhaps a counter revolution by the religious right maybe in the works. What's that choking sensation I feel? Why it might just be the bible belt, slung over the Rockies and slowly being cinched up. (Eric S. Peterson)
