In the end, Protect Marriage estimates, as much as half of the nearly $40 million raised on behalf of the measure was contributed by Mormons.
That was the statement confirming the extent of the financial involvement of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pass Prop 8. That is mind-blowing.
The extent to which this church felt the need to involve itself, not only with cash from its faithful, but by marshalling an army of Mormon volunteers to participate in phone banking, canvassing and disseminating propaganda and lies to remove a civil right from a group of citizens in California is beyond disturbing.
In the NYT article, “Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage,” the details emerge about the win-at-all-costs strategy that seems less about pure belief and faith than political activism and bullying.
First approached by the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco a few weeks after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in May, the Mormons were the last major religious group to join the campaign, and the final spice in an unusual stew that included Catholics, evangelical Christians, conservative black and Latino pastors, and myriad smaller ethnic groups with strong religious ties.
And the bottom line is that the full-frontal assault by Yes on 8 came down to the fact that the Mormons were willing to go door to door in a systematic manner—to make the difference. See how they did it below the fold.