Breaking news: Mormons are again militating to deny civil rights to others. A mass email was sent in Illinois encouraging Mormons to call their legislators to oppose a Civil Unions bill. And in it, the Mormons are again repeating the same tired lies.
What can we do in response? Let's talk about the Mormon's beliefs. And also call Illinois legislators and ask them to support the Civil Unions bill.
More background and action proposals below the fold.
Background
From Box Turtle Bulletin: http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/...
And I encourage you to read the full backstory there too.
The Illinois House will begin considering another Civil Unions bill this week.
The Mormon Church maintains a private internet social-networking and website service in lieu of individual churches having their own individual Internet web sites. This allows the church to oversee the information that is made available to members and nonmembers.
If any mass mailing is sent, it must be approved by a (Bishop or higher authority) of the Mormon Church. Below is the mass mailing that was sent, but first, note the following lies told by the Mormons:
- The "gay lifestyle" being taught to small children in school; and
- Little girls will be forced to share bathrooms with confused old men;
and also note that this email is in direct contradiction of the Mormons' prior declaration after Prop 8 in California that civil unions - indeed, anything short of marriage - is OK with them.
From: Kristy Combs <kristyc@mchsi.com>
Date: March 3, 2009 12:27:59 PM CST
Subject: Civil Union bill scheduled for a hearing Thursday - calls needed
This message has been authorized for sending by Bishop Church.
The Civil Union Bill (HB 2234) has been scheduled for a hearing in the Youth and Family Committee this week on Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in Springfield. If the bill is voted out of committee, it becomes eligible for a vote before the full Illinois House of Representatives. This bill will legalize civil unions in the state of Illinois, and will treat such civil unions with the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections and benefits as are afforded within marriage. In other words, civil unions will be different in name only from marriage. As has already been seen in Massachusetts, this will empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise. It will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores; the current push in Massachusetts is to recognize and legalize all transgender rights (An individual in Massachusetts can now change their drivers license to the gender they believe themselves to be, regardless of actual gender, which means that confused men and women are now legally entering one another’s bathrooms and locker rooms. What kind of a safety issue is this for our children?). Furthermore, while the bill legalizes civil unions, it will be used in the courts to show discrimination and will ultimately lead to court mandated same-sex marriages.
To help defeat this bill, please call your state representative and state senator and ask that they support traditional marriage and vote against the civil unions bill. If you are unsure who your legislators are, please see the link at the end of this email.
Also, please take a moment and call the following members of the Youth and Family Committee to encourage them to vote no on this bill. We need 4 votes to keep it from passing out of the committee. And - as always, please pass this on to all who believe in protecting our families and our children. If you are interested in attending the hearing, it will be held on Thursday, March 5th at 9:00 a.m. in Springfield in Room 122B of the Capitol Building (I can give you directions to the Capitol Building if needed).
Members of the Youth and Family Committee:
Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) (Greg Harris is also the sponsor of this bill, but he needs to hear your opposition to this bill)
Chairperson
217-782-3835
Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago)
Vice-Chairperson
217-782-5962
Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago)
Republican Spokesperson
217-782-1653
Rep. William D. Burns (D-Chicago)
217-782-2023
Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (R-Chicago)
217-782-8182
Rep. Al Riley (D-Matteson)
217-558-1007
Rep. Dave Winters (R-Rockford)
217-782-0455
Directions for identifying your legislators:
You can use the following link to identify your state legislators and their contact information: http://www.elections.il.gov/... (and enter your 9 digit zip code). If this link doesn’t work, you can use the general link www.ilga.gov and then click on " legislator lookup" near the bottom of the page, then click on "by zip+4″. Type in your zip code, and you’ll see a list of your legislators. You want your state senator and state representative as they will be the ones voting on the bill.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sister Combs.
Action for Kossacks!
Every time the Mormon Church attempts to demonize gay people, all right-minded people should also tell the world about Mormon beliefs. [Why? Because the Mormons HATE the world knowing about their beliefs. They want to blend in with the rest of religious America, and pretend they are just another mainline Christian, Jesus-following denomination. So, the more they oppose equal civil rights, the more we should expose their beliefs.]
Mormons don't want these beliefs exposed (Most of these I had heard previously, and got corroboration from an ex-Mormon at http://www.exmormon.net/...
- Jesus and the Devil are brothers.
- The Mormons believe their heavenly father was once a mortal man on another planet, who later became god of our planet. His name is Elohim.
- Mormon men can become gods of other planets in the afterlife.
- Mormon women can't.
- Mormons steal souls from other religions by secretly converting people of other religions, including Holocaust victims, for which Jewish groups have repeatedly and consistently protested.
- Any non-Mormon church is a church of the devil. The Mormon Church is the only true church.
- Black people are cursed with black skin because of inferiority in a prior life. (As pointed out bin the comments below, in fact, Blacks were categorically banned from the priesthood for over 100 years.)
- Native Americans were cursed with red skin because of sin in prior life. Whites lived good lives and therefore are blessed with clear, white skin.
- Heaven is near a star called Kolob.
- The Bible is full of errors of doctrine.
Action item 1: Spread the word! Should a people who believe that other churches are the work of the devil really be casting the first stone in the public square? Should a church that steals the souls of others be allowed to take away civil rights too? Tell your friends!
Action item 2: Call each Illinois legislator named above. Tell him or her that you like Illinois, and that choices on where you spend your tourist dollar and discretionary income will depend on whether they are friendly or hostile to minority rights, including civil union rights of gays and lesbians.