Joel Kongolo Ilunga

Mary Baker
US Gov & Pol
04/08/2015

Actions on Same sex-marriage

The Californian proposition 8 was to eliminate the rights of same-sex couples to marry. The
LDS church publicly supported this proposition. The first presidency of the church wrote and sent out a
letter which was intended to be read in each congregation in California. The content of the letter had this
following quote "do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your
means and time." The response of church members to their leadership's appeals to donate money and
volunteer time was very supportive, such that Latter-day Saints provided a significant source for
financial donations in support of the proposition, both inside and outside the State of California. LDS
members contributed over $20 million; about 45% of out-of-state contributions to ProtectMarriage.com
came from Utah, over three times more than any other state.
Recently in Utah, a bill banning discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
passed the states Republican-controlled legislature. The church kept its views on the issue but tolerates
issues on gender equality. When the federal court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in Utah; Dallin
H. Oaks, a member of the Mormon Church Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called Mormons to respond
with civility even if their views are not upheld on issues such as marriage, pornography and drugs. The
church also made this statement: In a society which has starkly diverse views on what rights should be
protected, the most sensible way to move forward is for all parties to recognize the legitimate concerns
of others, it said. After a considerable amount of hard work, we believe that the Utah legislature has
wisely struck that balance. LGBT people cannot be fired or denied housing just for being gay. At the

same time, religious conscience and the right to protect deeply held religious beliefs is protected by
robust legislation. While none of the parties achieved all they wanted, we do at least now have an
opportunity to lessen the divisiveness in our communities without compromising on key principles.

Appendix

Figure: shown here is the state attorney general of California campaigning for governor in
2010, he was against same sex marriage and wanted to ban it. Reprinted from Wikipedia
on May, 4 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_%282008%29

Work Cited
California Proposition 8 (2008). (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 4 2015, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_%282008%29