The following are some things that have been printed in the media lately. And while there are many more examples of negative, even scary things, it's encouraging that there at least a few thinking people out there.
1. From HumanEvents.com
The…response by gay-marriage advocates has been massive threats of retaliation against those participating in the political process, the LDS church in particular, as well as African-Americans, 70% of whom voted for Prop 8, according to exit polling.
Large, disruptive protests are being held at LDS places of worship in California and Utah. In the waning days of the campaign, gay-marriage advocates actually ran an outrageous hate-filled television ad “Home Invasion,” inciting religious hatred against the LDS church because its members donated to Prop 8.
These tactics however may backfire. Gay-marriage advocates are no longer looking like a movement devoted to love and tolerance. They are affirming the Yes on Prop 8 campaign's contention that religious liberty is on the line in the marriage debate. Gay-marriage advocates now appear to view anyone who thinks marriage means the union of one man and one woman is the equivalent of a racist, and can be treated as such.
Singling out minority religious communities because they exercised their basic civil rights to vote, organize and donate is a truly ugly new development..
2. Dennis Wyatt, managing editor of the Manteca Bulletin
Some of the tactics used against Proposition 8 supporters in California are objectionable:
People upset about others that voted in favor of Prop. 8 trying to put their standards on everyone else should look in the mirror -- they're trying to do the same thing. Equating a yes vote on Prop. 8 to being equivalent to hate is disingenuous at best and tells those you are trying to convince to change their views that if you disagree with them you'll get smeared.
Pursuing the principle of protecting the rights of minorities doesn't justify mob rule. There has yet to be one case of gangs of Mormons going out and defacing Gay & Lesbian Centers. Too bad the same can't be said about some who said they voted against Proposition 8 and have spray-painted meeting houses and stake centers.
Screaming in someone's face who thinks differently than you isn't an effective way to get them to change their position.
3. L.A. Times columnist Tim Rutten
When churches leap into the process as religious organizations, it raises hackles, and rightly so. It's a distasteful business, but so is singling out individual political donors for retribution and boycotts that deprive them of their living. A blacklist in the service of a good cause is still a blacklist."
4. Thomas Sowall in Mormon Times
Among the many new "rights" being conjured out of thin air, a new one seems to be a "right" to win.
Americans have long had the right to put their candidates and their ideas to a vote. Now there seems to be a sense that your rights have been trampled on if you don't win.
The worst of all the reactions from people who act as if they have a right to win have come from gay activists in the wake of voter rejection of so-called "gay marriage," which is to say, redefining what marriage has meant for centuries.
Blacks and Mormons have been the main targets of the gay activists' anger. Seventy percent of blacks voted against gay marriage in California, so racial epithets were hurled at blacks in Los Angeles— not in black neighborhoods, by the way.
Blacks who just happened to be driving through Westwood, near UCLA, were accosted in their cars and, in addition to being denounced, were warned, "You better watch your back."
Even blacks who were carrying signs in favor of gay marriage were denounced with racial epithets.
In Michigan, an evangelical church service was invaded and disrupted by gay activists, who also set off a fire alarm, because evangelicals had dared to exercise their right to express their opinions at the polls.
In Oakland, California, a mob gathered outside a Mormon temple in such numbers that officials shut down a nearby freeway exit for more than three hours.
In their midst was a San Francisco Supervisor who said "The Mormon church has had to rely on our tolerance in the past, to be able to express their beliefs." He added, "This is a huge mistake for them. It looks like they've forgotten some lessons."
Apparently Mormons don't have the same rights as other Americans, at least not if they don't vote the way gay activists want them to vote.
In the past, gay activists have disrupted Catholic services and their "gay pride" parades in San Francisco have crudely mocked nuns.
While demanding tolerance from others, gay activists apparently feel no need to show any themselves.
5. And finally, an email from Kristen that kind of puts it all into perspective
Last week a high counselor gave an interesting talk in our ward. He had gone to the L.A. temple the day before, and he told some interesting things that he learned from the new temple president there. The new temple president was just set apart on November 1st. He said that his blessing to be set apart said that in the coming weeks the LA temple would stand as a beacon to the world more than it had ever been before. The temple president said that since the election he has received letters from all over California and even the world thanking our church for standing up for marriage and family. People feel this would not have passed if it had not been for the organized effort by our church. Apparently he even pulled many letters out of his pocket to show a few. He said that he had also received many phone calls and people asking him if he could take a credit card payment because people are so grateful that they wanted to make donations to "our organization."
It is nice to hear the other side of the story from the anger we always hear on the news.
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