At the bottom of this post is a link to a short article by Deseret News, an LDS-owned SLC-based paper, which highlights the submission of twin briefs jointly filed by the LDS Church, and multiple socially conservative religious institutions, that argue against repealing Doma, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and Proposition 8, the California voter initiative that ended the legal practice of same-sex marriages in 2008.
Though the LDS Church is just one of the signatories to the brief defending Prop. 8 the well known fact within Mormondom and elsewhere is that a disproportionate amount of time, energy, and funds leading to the discriminatory law's passage came from the LDS Church; nearly 24 million dollars in advertisement, more than half the total amount spent on Prop. 8 promotion.
I can only speculate as to the pro-Prop. 8 brief's content. I have not read the brief but I have encountered many statements from the Brethren opposing marriage equality. These statements are voiced most frequently and fervently by Elder Oaks, the LDS Apostle, former Utah Supreme Court justice, and fierce defender of the yet untested "religious liberty" argument.
Before Prop. 8 was hauled before the Supreme Court or even the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, it was ruled unconstitutional by Northern California District Court Justice Vaughn Walker. Walker dismissed the law's validity as it violates 2 clauses of the 14th amendment; Due Process and Equal Protection. In Walker's assessment, Prop. 8 defenders failed at any point during the trial's proceedings to demonstrate "proof of harm" caused by same-sex marriage. Vague appeals to children's welfare and preserving the hallowed institution of historic marriage fell flat in the face of blatant discrimination.
After the ruling, Prop. 8 defenders touted Walker's own long-term gay relationship as a conflict of interest as Walker and his partner would potentially/directly
At this stage in the game, it appears Prop. 8's survival hinges on a change in course. As Walker thoroughly explains in his opinion, there is no demonstrable proof or empirical evidence that indicates gay couples marrying each other has any adverse impact on society. For those who insist gay marriages haven't been around long enough for the negative outcomes to manifest, they'd have to contend with the data coming out of countries like Canada and the Netherlands where gay couples have been marrying for over 10 years. To date there are no signs that society and morality are disintegrating within the ever growing community of nations that have ratified marriage equality.
Therefore, if it is not the case that gay marriages diminish straight marriages and that they do not undermine our national morality or the well-being of our children, those who would see Prop. 8 upheld must claim victimization. If gays are allowed to marry in California then the 1st Amendment rights of the plurality that voted against gay marriage will be trampled. This argument quiet helpfully puts gay marriage on the same level as Loving v. Virginia, the high watermark of Supreme Court marriage equality cases.
My hope is that the outcome will be the same, that prejudiced discrimination will be seen for what it is and be overturned. I don't believe, sadly, our highly partisan Supreme Court will vote as decisively against bigotry as did the 1967 court. With staunch Republican apologists like Alito, Thomas, Roberts, and, worst of all, Scalia, there will likely be a fierce battle ahead. But it may be that Justice Kennedy, an intractable conservative-libertarian, will fall on the side of gays and lesbians' right to self-determination in the face of majority rule. Kennedy was essential in ending draconian sodomy laws nationally in 2003.
However the Court rules, the Church will remain opposed to marriage equality, as comically hypocritical as it is for the Brethren, many of whom are direct descendants of polygamous unions, to now stand as the ultimate defenders of "traditional marriage".
-Joe
-Joe
