(paraphrased):
On Thursday, 11/6, This is video of a press conference that occurred Thursday in Los Angeles with Lorri Jean of the Los Angeles Gay And Lesbian Center announcing a new website, www.invalidateprop8.com and a call to action.
Full transcript:
Lorri Jean of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center:
Good afternoon.
This Tuesday, by a very slim margin, the voters of California passed Proposition 8, in an effort to strip an entire group of people of their fundamental right to marry. That slim margin passed this proposition for one reason and one reason only. They fell victim to campaign of lies and deceit that was perpetrated by the Yes on 8 forces.
campaign of lies and deception was immoral and reprehensible. With malice of forethought, the Yes on 8 campaign lied to California voters, and they started right from the very beginning.
Their very first ad said “Churches would lose their tax exemption,” if Proposition 8 did not pass. A lie.
Their second claim, was that ministers would be prosecuted if Proposition 8 did not pass, and they did not agree with the right to marry. Again, an absolute lie.
Third, they claimed that schools would be required to teach children about gay marriage if Proposition 8 did not pass. Another complete falsehood.
And you don’t have to take my word for it. You can look at many of the newspapers throughout the state, who exposed this campaign of lies and distortions for what it was, like the LA Times. But you didn’t have to be in an urban area like LA, the Fresno Bee, not a paragon of liberal thought, called their campaign “a flat lie.”
Also, a prominent Mormon legal scholar issued a memorandum analyzing all of their claims, and found them to be false and misleading, attorney Morris Thurston. And in fact, many fair minded Mormons, many fair minded members of the LDS Church are very upset that Proposition has passed, and are equally upset by the deceptive and false campaign that was run by the Yes on 8 forces.
They even stooped so low as to send a campaign mailer, targeted to African Americans, with Barack Obama’s picture on it, implying that Barack Obama supported Proposition 8, when they knew full well that Barack Obama has come out against Proposition 8. That is the kind of lying and deception that helped them cleave to a very small margin on Tuesday.
And they took this dirty campaigning to a new low in our state. And how were they able to do this? They were able to do this, because the majority of the donations that came to the Yes on 8 campaign, came from members of the Mormon Church. And not on their own initiative, but at the direction, the express direction of the president of the Mormon Church. He sent a letter, and instructed it that it be read in every Mormon congregation, directing members of his church to get involved this campaign. And so, from all over the country, they flooded the Yes on 8 coffers with money, to run this lying and deceitful campaign.
We are here today to decry those lies. To expose them for what they are. And the LDS Church members were not the only ones. Other, conservative, religious, anti-gay organizations from outside of our state, did similar things. Like Focus on the Family, or the national office in Connecticut of the Knights of Columbus.
These organizations are entitled to their views, but they are not entitled to run campaigns of lies and deceit, and try to impose their views upon the civil law in the state of California.
We have a separation of church and state in our nation for a reason, and it is to stop those kinds of things. Our nation was founded on the principle that no minority should ever be subject to the tyranny of the majority when it comes to fundamental rights. What has happened with Proposition 8, sets a very dangerous precedent. For the first time in our nation, one group has voted to take away the fundamental rights of a smaller group, and that is wrong and disturbing, and it makes me wonder, who is next? Who’s fundamental rights will a conservative church, from out of state, focus on next?
We should all be protected by our constitution. And we are here today to announce a new campaign. We are not going quietly.
Yesterday, some of the finest attorneys in the state of California joined by the city of Los Angeles, filed suit in the California Supreme Court, to invalidate Proposition 8, as an improper way to amend our constitution, and subjugate a small group of people to the discriminatory will of the majority.
I believe that a majority of Californians would not have voted for this measure if they had known the truth. If they had not been lied to and deceived by the Yes on 8 campaign, funded mostly by donations from member of the Mormon Church.
So, today, we have decided to included the president of the Mormon Church in a campaign that is more productive for our community. We are going to raise money to fight the--to support the effort to repeal Proposition 8. And we are urging people to make donations on our new website, www.invalidateprop8.org. And for every donor who makes a donation, even a small donation of $5, a postcard in the name of that donor, will be sent to President Thomas Monson of the LDS Church, and I want to read to you what that postcard says:“Dear President Monson:
A donation has been made in your name by (and we will insert the person’s name), to “invalidateprop8.org” to overturn California's Proposition 8 and restore fundamental civil rights to all citizens of California. The money will be donated to legal organizations fighting the case and to support grass-roots efforts in support of full marriage equality. Although we decry the reprehensible role that the Church Latter Day Saints leadership played in denying all Californians equal rights under the law, we are pleased a donation has been made on your behalf to the effort to overturn the discrimination your church members helped enshrine in the California Constitution. Given that throughout its history the Mormon Church has been subjected to bigotry, we hope you appreciate the donation in your name to fight religious bigotry here in California.
