Thou Shalt Not Lie Doesn't Apply To Mormon Church

I know there are a lot of good Mormons out there, but their administrative headquarters could care less about one of those ten commandments. "Thou shalt not lie" is null and void to the Church's leaders when fighting the rights of gay people are at stake.

NYC Turns Out Against Bigotry And The Mormon Church

Last night New Yorkers who support human rights for all came up to Lincoln Center to protest their neighbor across Columbus Avenue. Only a few hundred feet away from the best of the arts is a church that has rallied for stripping gays of their right to marry whomever they choose and spent millions to do it. The ballot initiatives may have been in California, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas (gay adoption ban in this one) but that doesn't mean protests against their hateful ways will stop across the country.

From The NY Daily News:

Thousands of human rights advocates massed outside the Mormon Temple on the upper West Side Wednesday night to protest the church's vigorous role in banning California's same-sex marriages.

After some speechifying, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and entertainer Whoopi Goldberg led demonstrators on a flag-waving, drum-beating, slogan-chanting march to Columbus Circle.

The peaceful protest drew young and old, white and nonwhite, straight and gay, most of whom smiled and waved at spectators as they chanted things like, "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right," and "separation of church and hate."

Officials at the Mormon Church feigned outrage at this and other protests outside their facilities. While they play "poor little me" the rest of us know and understand exactly how they put themselves into the public sphere and their actions that helped tens of thousands in California to lose their fundamental human rights. If they want to interject their hate and bigotry, they should understand they'll get a response.

Protest The Mormon Church Over Prop 8 Tonight In NYC!

The electoral battles over gay marriage and adoption were fought in several states outside of New York, but that does not mean the fight is over nor can New Yorkers do their part to protest for human rights and equality for all no matter what your sexual orientation. Tonight at the Mormon Church of New York City on Columbus and 65th from 6:30 til 8pm, hundreds if not thousands will come together to peacefully protest the Mormon Church's interference in the ballot issues and remind people of how they helped to curtail the rights of so many people that simply want the same treatment under the law as straight people.

Here's the organizer of the event, Corey Johnson to explain a few things about what this is all about (via Gothamist):

Apparently thousands are expected at tonight's protest. What do you have planned?
We can not emphasize enough that this is a peaceful protest. We will not respond to their hatred with hatred. There will be a picket line with signs and chanting and also speeches from community leaders.

Can you explain why Proposition 8 is hateful?
For the first time, a state Constitution has been amended to take away existing rights -- in this case, the right to marry. And this Prop. victory could invalidate more than 18,000 marriages that have happened in CA since June 17.

Why target the Mormon Church, rather than Catholics or other religious groups who oppose Prop 8?
The Mormon Church distinguished itself from all other anti-gay groups by getting their congregation to contribute more than $20 million in their campaign of homophobia which resulted in the passage of Prop. 8, thereby doing away with marriage equality for all.

There's a lot of anger at Mormons, do you think it's all justified?
The anger is not towards Mormons, but rather towards the leaders of the Mormon Church, who purposely spread lies about gays and lesbians to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred.

So yeah, it isn't about hating Mormons back for their church leaders' decisions. The protest is to create an awareness about what the church hierarchy's role was in all of this and to eventually get them out of the process where a tax-exempt religious institution infringes on another person's right to equal rights. Bigotry is ugly no matter where it pops up and where we see it, it is our duty to quash it. Today that is at the Mormon Church and that is where we'll go.