Gay marriage is
on everyone’s mind in the week leading up to the
presidential election.
Supporters
of Prop. 8 bring their children to a rally in Los
Angeles.
Not surprisingly,
the papers are obsessed with the issue. While it’s
been expected that Californian publications would lean
heavily on the topic, as the state's Proposition 8
hangs in the balance, it’s surprising to see
what one newspaper in a conservative area has
been writing.
TheSalt Lake Tribune, the paper of record in the
Mormon state's capital, weighed in 15 times on the
issue. One columnist, Robert Kirby, who is Mormon, said "I Don't Care If Gays Get
Married" in a piece meant to satirize against Prop.
8: “Shouldn't it be against the law for stupid people
to get married? What's more harmful to society -- two
well-dressed men getting married and settling down, or
two idiots tying the knot and cranking out any number
of additional idiots?”
The Salt Lake
City paper also republished
an editorial from the
Los Angeles Times in its Opinion section, pointing out that the
fear-based ads pushing the idea that teachers would suddenly
be required to teach gay marriage in the classroom is
an outright lie, and that they are already
within their rights to use their judgment in
using classroom materials.
The
Times wrote: “It would be naive to
say that no California teacher will ever mention
homosexuality, or that SB 71 prevents all teachers,
elementary or otherwise, from reading 'King and King'
or similar books to their students, or telling them about
the history -- and existence -- of gay marriage.
Schools across the nation have done such things for
years, with or without legal recognition of gay
marriage.”
Another Salt Lake Tribune
article reported the last-minute withdrawal of
Utah-based Mormon volunteers for the California
initiative: "The church has since determined that such
phone calls are best handled by those who are
registered California voters." You think?
A
third Tribune story, “Prop 8: California Gay Marriage
Fight Divides LDS Faithful,” noted that
members of the church who are against Prop. 8 feel
like they are pariahs in their community. One woman,
Carol Oldman, even avoids going to services.
"It has tainted
everything for me," Oldham said, who was choking up
during her telephone interview with the Tribune.
"I am afraid to go there and hear people say mean
things about gay people. I am in mourning. I don't know
how long I can last.”
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