Same-sex Marriage and the Mormon Church
According to CNN,
Thousands protested California’s same-sex marriage ban in West Hollywood Wednesday night. Californians passed the measure 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent in Tuesday’s general election, countering a state Supreme Court ruling in May that said the state constitution guarantees gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Passage of Proposition 8 sent protesters into the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
This clearly shows how the election results for these constitutional amendments will not mean an end to the debate over same-sex marriage in the US.
Such an emotionally charged issue concerning the most personal and cherished aspects of life – family, identity, intimacy and equality – stirs fervent and deep feelings.
There is the hope that in the future all parties involved in this issue will act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility. However, I do not expect that this will always happen, unfortunately.
I know that many have criticized the Mormon Church and other organization for supporting Proposition 8. It is important to understand that this issue for the Mormon Church has always been about the sacred and divine institution of marriage – a union between a man and a woman and has nothing to do with bigotry.
It is also important to be clear that the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage does not mean that the church condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians, including their rights regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights.
The only ting that the Church is concerned about is that those rights do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.
For more information about the position of the Mormon Church on this topic you may read
Church Responds to Same-Sex Marriage Votes