People may be unaware that the top leadership of the LDS church has made banning gay couples from having any legal rights in California a supreme issue, part of a determined political campaign of unprecedented ferocity and organization. In California, this letter was sent to every congregation in California with direct instructions that it be read last June. Money quote:

The Church’s teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan for His children... Local Church leaders will provide information about how you may become involved in this important cause. We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman.

Mormon church leaders put out a broadcast across the country earlier this month insisting that Mormons contribute to and support Proposition 8. The broadcast featured two Elders from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

BYU students from California listened in Provo stake centers on Wednesday, as LDS Church leaders led a broadcast regarding the church's support of Proposition 8... "You don't expect the church to get behind things like this," said Chelsea Martinez, 20, a statistics major from Gonzales, Calif., who viewed the broadcast at a local stake center.

Similar to other students attending the broadcast, Martinez's parents have participated in the church's effort by going door-to-door to identify voter preferences and are working to persuade undecided voters to help pass Proposition 8.

The LDS Church, from its very top, is waging war on the civil rights of gay Americans and gay Californians. If you want to do something to resist the organization behind 77 percent of the funding of this Proposition, you can donate to the fight for civil equality here. I might add that if gay Californians actually cared about this as much as straight Mormons appear to, the race would not be close.

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