California issue, Utah dollars
The battle over California's Proposition 8, which would insert a ban on same-sex marriage into that state's constitution, is getting fierce as election day approaches - and Utah money is at the heart of it.
According to this article in the Tribune's sister paper, The Mercury News in San Jose, about 12 percent of the $27.9 million donated to Yes on Proposition 8 are from outside of California. Of that 12 percent, 45 percent of the donations come from Utah - three times what people in any other state (besides California) have given.
That's roughly $1.5 million of Utahns' money going to California. Presumably much of that money comes from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have been urged by church leaders to get involved in the ballot issue.
Opponents of the ban, No on Prop. 8, are catching up to the supporters, having raised $26.7 million. About 21 percent of that figure comes from outside California, though the Mercury News article doesn't detail what states are giving more. You have to figure Utah's percentage is moderately high, just from WordPerfect founder Bruce Bastian's reported $1 million donation.
The fund-raising tactics of the anti-gay forces took a sleazy turn last week, when several businesses that had donated to No on Prop. 8 received letters demanding those businesses donate to the Yes side - or have the businesses' names publicized as "a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage."
The businesses weren't just threatened with being "outed." No, first they were being shaken down for contributions - using the threat of publicity as, let's call it what it is, extortion. There's high-minded morality for you.
UPDATE: One more item of note on Prop. 8 and the LDS connection: This entry on the left-leaning Huffington Post by Joe Vogel - remember him as one of the Utah Valley student-government officers who invited Michael Moore to Orem? - in which he laments members of his church being "on the wrong side of history again."
According to this article in the Tribune's sister paper, The Mercury News in San Jose, about 12 percent of the $27.9 million donated to Yes on Proposition 8 are from outside of California. Of that 12 percent, 45 percent of the donations come from Utah - three times what people in any other state (besides California) have given.
That's roughly $1.5 million of Utahns' money going to California. Presumably much of that money comes from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have been urged by church leaders to get involved in the ballot issue.
Opponents of the ban, No on Prop. 8, are catching up to the supporters, having raised $26.7 million. About 21 percent of that figure comes from outside California, though the Mercury News article doesn't detail what states are giving more. You have to figure Utah's percentage is moderately high, just from WordPerfect founder Bruce Bastian's reported $1 million donation.
The fund-raising tactics of the anti-gay forces took a sleazy turn last week, when several businesses that had donated to No on Prop. 8 received letters demanding those businesses donate to the Yes side - or have the businesses' names publicized as "a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage."
The businesses weren't just threatened with being "outed." No, first they were being shaken down for contributions - using the threat of publicity as, let's call it what it is, extortion. There's high-minded morality for you.
UPDATE: One more item of note on Prop. 8 and the LDS connection: This entry on the left-leaning Huffington Post by Joe Vogel - remember him as one of the Utah Valley student-government officers who invited Michael Moore to Orem? - in which he laments members of his church being "on the wrong side of history again."
posted by Sean P. Means @ 10:27 AM |
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