Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

In Salt Lake City some 400 people, including Affirmation members and leaders of Mormons for Marriage, gathered at the Utah Capitol to celebrate Federal Judge Vaughn Walker's decision.

David Melson

Affirmation Applauds the Decision of Federal Judge Vaughn Walker
"The right of mutually consenting adults to join their lives together as a family are basic to our society"

By David Melson, executive director of Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons applauds the decision of Federal Judge Vaughn Walker overturning California’s Proposition 8 and restoring the right of gay or lesbian Californians to be married. The judge’s formal opinion was a logical, well-reasoned, rational statement defending the right of any two adults to mutually choose to join their lives together in the publically recognized institution of marriage. As anchorperson Keith Olbermann pointed out in his commentary shortly after the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008, the issue at hand is not about gay versus straight, it is not about conservative versus liberal or Democrat versus Republican, it is not even about sex, it is not about religion, it is simply about love. It is about the love that two people have for each other, and about the mutual love and respect that we accord one another as our brothers and sisters.

Proposition 8 sought to remove the already existing right of gay couples to be legally married in California, the first time in United States history that a federal or state constitutional amendment was used to remove a civil right from a class of people. To claim to support the principles of such a proposition while acting on behalf of a loving God is incomprehensible. One of the greatest love stories in scripture is the Old Testament account of David and Jonathan. As Mormons, we are embarrassed by those leaders within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who chose to resort to intimidation and dishonest dealings with their fellow citizens in their attempts to force the passage of Proposition 8 in California and similar measures in other states. As Latter-day Saints we have been taught that the greatest and most valued institution on this earth is that of the family; measures such as Proposition 8 seek to demean or to destroy our families.

As the ruling points out, allowing gay and lesbian people to be married does not in any way weaken or harm the marriage of non-gay couples, and the prohibition of marriage does not in any way serve the interest of the state. The worth of each individual and the right of mutually consenting adults to join their lives together as a family are basic to our society. We urge the affirmation of Judge Walker’s decision, and other recent decisions in favor of marriage equality, by the higher courts as expeditiously as possible.