Clint, the Microphone is Yours...

Aside from the presidential election, the most heated issue in California is Prop 8. I won't even get into what Prop 8 is, because everyone probably already knows.

People are really getting aggressive about their feelings on Prop 8, churches are talking about it and even putting "Yes on 8" signs outside of their buildings. At the carnival at the Catholic church around the corner this weekend there were parishioners at a booth handing out yard signs. (Does "separation of church and state" not exist anymore? Where was I when that happened?)

Now, the great thing about having your own blog is that you can pretty much say whatever you want to say and it is your own space to say it. I, personally, am against Prop 8 (as many Democrats are,) but here's my dilemma:

• I'm LDS (short for Mormon)
  
• I'm a Democrat (a rare breed in the Mormon church)
  
• I have many LDS friends (and former Brigham Young University roomies)
  
• I have many gay friends--in fact, 3 of my closest friends are gay.
• I love and respect all of my LDS friends and all of my gay friends.
  

I've been wanting to say something about Prop 8 for weeks, but how do I do that without alienating any of my LDS friends or my gay friends? I'm hoping that their opinions of me outside of the political issues will work in my favor.

But this is what I know: at the end of the day, we must each vote based on our conscience, not based on what anyone else is telling us. I know that I have to face myself and my God and my judgment, and it is my belief that being more inclusive is being more Christ-like. It saddens me to see gay people feel so reviled by religions. When I saw those signs outside the church around the corner I thought to myself, "What if there is a gay person in this parish who is struggling with his faith and is coming to church for some sort of solace?" The message they are getting is that they are not wanted there.

It also saddens me to see some "Yes on 8" people hiding behind all of the legal jargon associated with it or blindly following what they hear at church without making up their own minds (I'm speaking generally, not specifically.) I respect people who feel strongly in favor of Prop 8, but I hope they are being honest with themselves and others about WHY they are in favor of it.

Tonight I was on Facebook, where I joined a group for Mormon Democrats called the LDS Left. I was reading the message board and a guy who was clearly a conservative Republican had written some very strong comments in favor of Prop 8. But he didn't stop there. He also called into question anyone's testimony who was against it. Now you could tell that this guy loves a fight--why else would he put such a post on a site where he was sure to get pummeled?

(If you have the stamina, you can read the thread here. It is draining just to read, because people are very vocal on this subject...)

Many people did pummel him, but it was one particular comment that really impressed me. A girl named Natalie wrote back and informed "Dan" that it was not his job to question people's testimonies or why they were members of the Church, which he did. She also recommended a blog for him to go and read called Soy Made Me Gay.

The blog is written by a guy named Clint, who is Mormon and gay. When I read some of his posts--which are both humorous but incredibly insightful, I realized that he did all my work for me on the things I had planned to write here. But his basic message is this--no matter how you feel about Prop 8, be sensitive to others when discussing it, don't assume that someone who disagrees with you is stupid or lacks faith, and choose your words carefully.

Thanks, Clint, for getting the job done.

By the way, you have to admire this guy's courage. He "came out" to his entire congregation at a testimony meeting. That takes real guts.

And one last thing: NO on 8.