Prop 8 rocks the LDS world
The Salt Lake Tribune offers a multipart take on the LDS church's biggest foray into American culture wars in decades — the battle to ban same-sex unions in California.Rosemary Winters profiles a St. George gay couple, Derek Streeter and Stephen Eiche, above, who have been together for 19 years, but recently made it official by marrying in California by a Unitarian minister. Says Streeter:
We have a commitment that is, and has been, very strong and sure. For now, at least, we are recognized by a church . . . and a government.Peggy Fletcher Stack describes how nasty the battle in California has become with both sides "outing" supporters on the other. (For a view from California's Bay Area go here.)
LDS blogger Lowell Brown writes: If you are a Mormon and you donate to Prop 8, thousands of strangers will try to smear you, in the hope of intimidating you and others into not exercising your right to freedom of speech.Even humor columnist and LDS member Robert Kirby weighs in on the flak he's gotten from readers on his stand:
Not only do I not care if gays get married, it is none of my business. As a flaming heterosexual, it's a full-time job for me just to keep my thoughts clean in church. I don't have the energy to fret about somebody else's libido.You can find the whole package of articles here.
Meanwhile on The Huffington Post, Joe Vogel laments on being a Mormon at odds with his church:
So to my fellow Mormons: I ask you to please re-consider. Take the time you would spend fighting this errant cause with your family. Go to a movie. Take a drive together. Watch the World Series.Tomorrow (Tuesday) the Hinckley Institute will host a forum on the issue, "Out of the Closet: A Candid, Behind the Scenes Dialogue on Gay Rights." It begins at 11 a.m. in the Hinckley Caucus Room on University of Utah and will be broadcast live on KUER's RadioWest.Maybe you don't completely understand homosexuality. Maybe you think it's a sin. But shouldn't we leave that to God and allow others to make their own choices? As followers of Christ, isn't it always better to err on the side of compassion and love?
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Tribune's Bob Barr Blackout Watch: The Libertarian Party nominated Bob Barr as its presidential candidate on May 25, 2008, and 139 days later -- with less than one month before Election Day -- The Salt Lake Tribune finally informed its print edition readers of his candidacy.
See "McCain or Obama: Utahns want next leader to heal economy," October 11, 2008.
By comparison, the Tribune notified its readers of the candidacies of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama on an almost daily basis in 2008.
The Tribune first reported on:
*Ralph Nader's 2008 presidential candidacy as early as March 1, 2008.
*The presidential candidacy of the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin on July 3, 2008.
*The presidential candidacy of the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney on September 4, 2008.
In the interim, those who noted the omission of Barr's candidacy from the Tribune's national political coverage were prevented from further comment on the TribTalk forums and SLTRIB.COM comments section after their accounts were disabled and IP addresses blocked by the Tribune's web site administrators.
Almost 95 percent of all American voters -- in 45 states -- can vote for Barr on the ballot.
Nationwide polls show Barr receiving support from between 1 to 2 percent of voters (or about 1 in 50 American voters), and up to 11 percent support in some battleground states.
No other presidential candidate can claim the same thing.
The CEO of MediaNews (which owns the Tribune), William Dean Singleton, was a significant financial supporter of Republican U.S. President George W. Bush.
www.BobBarr2008.com
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