Mormons and Knights and Understanding Proposition 8

[Hazumu]

Matt Coles
Director of the ACLU's LGBT Project
Posted: May 14, 2009 02:52 PM

The Huffington Post

Perhaps the Mormons and the Knights would understand why Proposition 8 was deeply wrong by considering another initiative. If an initiative were proposed to give the expansive protection the California Constitution gives freedom of religion -- greater than the federal constitution -- to all faiths except Mormonism and Catholicism, would the Mormons and the Knights see this as just a fair part of ordinary political discourse? This is nothing more than what Proposition 8 did.

There have been times in our history when large majorities would gladly have taken rights away from Mormons and Catholics. There still may be places with majorities ready to do that. I hope that if anyone ever proposes such a thing, the Courts will rise to the task of protecting minority rights and strike it down. Just as I hope they will rise to the job now, and strike down Prop 8. If the Mormons and Knights understood what Proposition 8 really did, they'd join us in asking the Court to strike it.