Prop 8 and the Sundane Film Fest.

[strandinthewind]

I tend to agree with this - the Mormons called the tune (which I readily agree it was their right to do) - but, it's time to pay the fiddler. Let's see if they stand by their actions now. Something tells me, we will see some begging from their camp.
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“Proposition 8 eliminates the right of African-American couples to marry."

"Only marriage between non-Jews is valid or recognized in California."

Would THOSE statements have ever made it to the ballot?

In our most recent election, millions of voters elected an African-American President, once again affirming that prejudice, bigotry and discrimination truly have no place in an enlightened and evolved society…..yet gays and lesbians continue to be victimized and stigmatized.

Continuing to predictably prove that hypocrisy and hate go hand in hand, while the borders of religious bigotry burst at the seams; “Yes on 8”s virulently homophobic campaign director announced that he had a lesbian sister….all the while leading a group that talked non-stop about the importance of “protecting the family.”

Do you have gay or lesbian friends, family members, co-workers or neighbors? Do you support gays and lesbians in their battle of full equality and civil right?

In a sick and twisted irony, the Mormon Church, an organization that faced horrible persecution for generations, caught a bad case of amnesia and now promotes and encourages the exact same campaign of hate and intolerance that their ancestors suffered through. (More revolting irony - one of the main reasons Mormons were persecuted so intensely was because of their beliefs about marriage). The Utah-based Mormon Church was the single largest economic engine behind the passage of California’s Proposition 8 – the ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage. At the urging of octogenarian church President Thomas Monson, Mormons contributed millions and million of dollars to fund the deceitful and disgusting advertising campaign that resulted in a small majority of Californians supporting Proposition 8. The New York Times estimated church members’ contributions to “Yes on 8” at $20 million. The rabidly homophobic Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council proudly claimed on his website that Mormon Church members eventually gave $22 million in support of Proposition 8. There are many, many reasons why it is unconscionable that the Utah-based Mormon church, (which enjoys a tax-exempt status as a religious organization), so intensely lobbied their followers to contribute money in support of Proposition 8, including the fact that it had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STATE OF UTAH, and MORMONS MAKE UP LESS THAN 2% OF CALIFORNIA’S POPULATION OF 38 MILLION.

A cruel dichotomy is that the film industry, a business with countless hardworking gays and lesbians since its inception, and a huge supporter of gay rights, holds one of it’s biggest annual events, The Sundance Film Festival, every January in Utah - the “ground zero” of hate and homophobia in our society, and the home of a church that continues to debase the lives of gays and lesbians. Utah is the most religiously homogeneous state in the country, with approximately 58 - 62 percent of its inhabitants claiming membership in the Mormon Church and filling its coffers. The church wields enormous influence over its followers. While not everyone in Utah is Mormon, and there are countless fair-minded Mormons who disagree with the hateful and homophobic philosophy and policies of the LDS Church, the UNDENIABLE fact is that…MONEY SPENT IN UTAH IS INEVITABLY FUNNELED INTO COLLECTION PLATES OF THE MORMON CHURCH; WHICH IN TURN SPONSORS ACTIVITIES THAT ATTEMPT TO DENIGRATE THE LIVES OF GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND DENY THEM BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS.

Would the Mormon Church bring thousands of their followers to a convention in San Francisco?

IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE FILM COMMUNITY TO STOP FUNDING HATE AND BIGOTRY, AND MOVE THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL TO A STATE OTHER THAN UTAH!

http://www.movesundance.com/