CARNAL NATION

Turnabout is fair play, isn't it? After the Mormon Church threw its weight behind the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in California, people have started taking a very close look at the Latter-Day Saints and their role in politics. Shortly after Prop 8 passed, protests outside of certain Mormon temples in Los Angeles caused them to bar their gates, which meant that there was no risk of demonstrators getting in—but neither could Mormon couples who wanted to get married themselves. In the Mormon faith, a temple marriages are very important; it means that not only are you sealed together for this lifetime, but for the eternal lifetime that follows.

The Universal Free Church, which has but a single commandment, "At age 18 every UFC member has a libertarian right and duty to freely do whatever they want when alone or in private assembly with other consenting adult UFC members," has a whole new take on the whole marriage issue which has been so very contentious lately. They want to ban Mormon marriage, in the interests of—what else?—protecting the children. Specifically, to protect the children from being indoctrinated into "religious fascism," the UFC has started a petition for a constitutional amendment that would legalize gay marriage and outlaw Mormon marriage, because, as the petition's own words say: 

Mormon marriage is a threat to children because Mormons have bizarre and delusional beliefs such as magic underwear, and that the biblical Garden of Eden actually existed somewhere in Missouri! If not stopped from marriage, Mormons will continue to have children and indoctrinate them with such bizarre and delusional beliefs....

Mormon marriage is also a threat to children because Mormons believe in illegally using tens of millions of their tax-exempt dollars and the secular political process to force their religious beliefs on everyone else. Thereby violating tax laws and the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment. If not stopped from marriage, Mormons will continue to have children and indoctrinate them with their subversive and un-American beliefs in tax fraud and religious fascism.

The petition is absurd of course, but that's the point. Just as the theories of "Intelligent Design" should be taken as seriously as those of the Pastafarians, the only difference between the petition above and the Mormon Church's theories of flames and moral horror cascading upon us if homos get married is that for some reason, people can reach lofty and respected positions by advocating the latter. In a sane world, they'd be treated like that guy who stands on the street corner

Tana Geneva makes a worthwhile point about Mormons and Prop. 8 on Alternet:

It's worth mentioning that NOT all Mormons are set on screwing over LGBT people. I went to the Prop. 8 protest in San Francisco on the eve before the court hearings, and was excited to see a large Mormon contingent bearing signs like "Straight and active Mormon for Marriage Equality". During the Prop. 8 campaign many Mormon groups took a courageous stand against the Church's meddling.

As she also points out, though, these people aren't in the driver's seat. We await the day that they will be.