Oct 23, 2008 7:11 pm US/Pacific
Gay Marriage Advocates To Petition Mormon Leader
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ―
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Thomas Monson, President of the Mormon Church.
AP
A California activist group says it will petition Mormon church President Thomas Monson to stop his faith's involvement in a California proposition to ban same-sex marriage.
The Courage Campaign contends church leaders have "intimidated" members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into giving millions of dollars to the Yes on 8 campaign.
On Nov. 4, California voters will decide whether to approve Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in that state.
In a Thursday news release, Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs says he's collecting signatures and plans to deliver a petition to a church temple in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The petition asks Monson to stop funding and advocacy for the proposition and stay out of California politics.
"We fully respect your religious freedoms, but your freedoms do not include the ability to take away rights from anyone," the petition reads.
The petition was posted online Thursday and was rapidly collecting signatures, Jacobs said.
Jacobs said he has considered delivering the petition to the church's Salt Lake City headquarters.
"But ultimately this is about California, and we don't much like having the president of the Mormon church trying to tell people in California how to vote," he said.
The petition would be the second delivered to the church from gay marriage supporters. Last week, a group of about 50 Latter-day Saints delivered more than 300 letters and a petition signed by more than 400 members worldwide to church headquarters in Salt Lake City.
The Mormon church is part of a coalition of faiths and conservative groups providing grassroots volunteer work and financial support to pass Proposition 8. In June, a letter from Monson read from the pulpit in Mormon congregations asked members to give time and money to the cause.
The church holds traditional marriage as a sacred institution ordained by God.
Mormons have been among the most active campaign volunteers, working to register voters and conduct voter opinion surveys. Various estimates place the financial contributions of Mormons at between 47 percent and 77 percent of the funds donated to the campaign.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Oct. 8, senior church elder L. Whitney Clayton said church members were "invited" to contribute only if it would not jeopardize their own finances and if they "feel good about it."
"There's no arm twisting, there's no compulsion, this is an invitation," he said.
The Mormon church maintains a position of political neutrality and does not endorse individual candidates or political parties. The church does, however, weigh in on issues it considers morally important and has actively fought marriage equality legislation across the U.S. since the 1990s.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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