Californians Against Hate- Who Were The Top 12 Contributors For Prop 8?
by Lynn Casper
Californians Against Hate has researched and named the top 12 financial contributors to the “Yes on Proposition 8” campaign that heavily influenced people in key states to discriminate against and take away the rights of LGBTQ people in America. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, Proposition 8 is an amendment to the Constitution that restricts same-sex couples from marrying. Despite all the efforts and progress which allowed and recognized same-sex couples the right to marry, and despite the many same-sex couples who did get married, Proposition 8 overrides all of those marriages. It is amazing to me that our Country still has such a conservative mindset even after electing President Obama, who views all people as equal no matter their sexual orientation.
The Dishonor Roll names these 12 contributors along with hundreds of other individuals, businesses, organizations and churches that funded hatred and discrimination to stay alive in our Country. The Knights of Columbus made it to the top of the list with donations amounting to $1,425,000. Among the top contributors include the National Organization for Marriage ($1,041,134.80), Focus on the Family($539,643.66), American Family Association ($500,000) and Concerned Women for America ($409,000).
William Bolthouse of the Bolthouse Foundation gave $100,000 towards pro-Proposition 8 campaigns. Their website makes it a point to state that The Bolthouse Foundation is separate from Bolthouse Farms and that all financial contributions made by each are based on the decisions of each entity and do not reflect on the other. So not only do the new owners of Bolthouse Farms disagree with the The Bolthouse Foundation on Proposition 8, but they also give medical benefits to employees with same sex partners and have donated a generous amount of money to LGBTQ organizations. With that said, I can drink my Bolthouse Green Goodness drinks guilt-free!
One thing that seemed to be common among the people who made it onto the Dishonor Roll is that a lot of them are alumna of Brigham Young University. If the sanctity of marriage is so important, why are there not stricter rules for getting a divorce? Or a stricter process to get married? Getting married should be just as hard as getting U.S. Citizenship.
The Dishonor Roll has been a great resources for queer activists who are boycotting and have staged demonstrations against companies such as Hoehn Motors ($25,000), Cinemark Cinemas ($9,999), and A-1 Storage ($693,000) to name a few of the larger contributors. Queer activists are also boycotting many Mormon owned businesses as well. We can still vote with our wallets to show these bigots that we are not backing down on our rights. Hopefully in the next 4 years all of the bigotry will reverse itself. With the leadership of a President who really cares about equality for every human being I believe it can happen.
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Commentary expressed by Lynn Casper is not necessarily reflective of Out Impact, Inc.
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thank you for publishing this.
I am an ex Mormon that left the church not only because I was against prop 8 but for other reasons. This article states a lie. Mormons have not practiced plural marriage for over 115 years. If plural marriage is practiced those member are excommunicated.
If you are going to write an anti Mormon message you better get your facts right. Otherwise you are going to look like a whinny little moron. If anything at all they respected democracy when they were forced to stop plural marriage.
If you need some pointers on what topics to bring up then try this. Talk about how they teach that God put us here so we could have free agency. The Mormons are supporting a proposition that would take away free agency. According to their teachings Satan wanted to take away all free agency and make us do everything right. This is contradictory to their own teachings. A Civil Marriage is a Civil Right and a choice. Religious teachings should not interfere. Not everyone believes that Gay marriage is a sin.
Jeffrey, You’re correct and I did write false information in my article without looking further into it. I wrote out of frustration and anger after reading many pro-proposition 8 articles and websites. I found myself guilty of discriminating against a group of people as a whole. How can I expect our efforts as LGBTQ’s to progress when we think of every group of people as either “for” or “against” us. You made me realize this and I know that not all mormons are for proposition 8. Thank you for pointing that out to me in a way that was thoughtful and informing. I have retracted the false statement about mormon polygamy.