Preaching to the Choir

Michael and I saw "8: The Mormon Proposition" on Sunday. It's a thoughtful and well-made documentary that chronicles the intentionally under-the-radar efforts of the Church of Latter-Day Saints to influence the electorate with the ballot measure that ultimately took away the right for same-sex couples in California to marry. If you keep up on LGBT politics, the film will not offer much new information. Still, writer/director Reed Cowan does an excellent job of putting things into context, showing how the Mormon church employed the same plan of attack to prevent marriage equality in Hawaii in the late '90s. While I fear the film is unlikely to be seen by anyone who doesn't already find the church's manipulation of its members appalling, it sure would nice if it could used as educational tool, because it puts a human face on the discrimination LGBT people -- young, old, single and coupled alike -- face on a daily basis. (Scenes featuring the mother of a gay man who was married to his partner in California pre-Prop 8 are particularly moving, but good luck getting this into public schools.) It should also be on interest to the Internal Revenue Service, which surely cannot condone this kind of underhanded politicking by a tax-exempt institution. 

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