HRC blasts Mormon church's involvement in fighting Illinois civil unions bill

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HRC blasts Mormon church's involvement in fighting Illinois civil unions bill

Human Rights Campaign is hopping mad at the latest news about the Mormons inserting themselves into Illinois public policy for the sake of hating the homos. The organization has launched an online action to its 35,000 members and supporters in Illinois as the legislature considers The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act (HB 2234).

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today learned that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sent a private e-mail to its members in Illinois urging them to contact state legislators and voice opposition to civil unions legislation currently under consideration.   Mormons have notably utilized private networks to torpedo pro-LGBT policies in the past, most recently in their home state of Utah, where a package of fair-minded legislation called the Common Ground Initiative was systematically killed in the state legislature. Most notoriously, Mormons funneled millions of dollars into California last year to pass Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that stripped lesbian and gay couples of the right to marry in the state.

"It is irrefutably clear that the LDS Church is fighting an anti-gay crusade throughout the nation, targeting any form of equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community," said Bruce Bastian, Board of Director for the Human Rights Campaign and former member of the LDS Church. "Church leaders want nothing more than to do their hateful work in secrecy, but the time has come to shine a light on their insidious efforts.  If the LDS Church won't tell the truth, we will."

The e-mail, sent to at least one LDS ward in Illinois, was authorized by Bishop Chris Church, of the Nauvoo, Illinois 3rd Ward, and was sent out by that website's ward administrator.  The messaging in the e-mail carries many of the same bigoted lies that were hallmarks of the LDS Church's campaign in support of Proposition 8 in California and Proposition 102 in Arizona.  The e-mail misleads citizens in Illinois by blatantly misstating that the civil unions legislation would "empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise."  It goes on to issue this incendiary and inaccurate warning - "it will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores."  The e-mail was uncovered by BoxTurtleBulletin.com, a website that tracks and monitors anti-gay rhetoric.  The contents of the e-mail are posted online at www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/03/03/9359.

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