The million-dollar donor against same-sex marriage: Updated
SUNDAY UPDATE: Half-truths and mistruths about adoption, field trips and church weddings: See today's editorial on Proposition 8.
The No on Proposition 8 campaign reports that it has obtained from campaign finance statements the name of a "secret million-dollar donor" to the Yes on 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage -- John Ashton of Utah, grandson of David O. McKay, who was president of the Mormon Church for nearly 20 years.
A week ago, the Yes on 8 campaign sent letters to businesses that had donated to the other side, to keep same-sex marriage legal in California, demanding that they donate an equal amount against gay marriage or the Yes campaign would "out" them. There are no reports that any businesses caved to this demand. The No campaign seems to have been wise enough not to seek a million bucks from Ashton.
* Photo by Ken Hively/LA Times


Where did he get the money? Is it money that Mormons donated to the church thinking they were doing God's work and he enriched himself?
Posted by: Sara | October 31, 2008 at 02:52 PM
Sara: From what I see reported, Ashton's money comes from a successful software company that he built up.
Posted by: Karin Klein | October 31, 2008 at 03:34 PM
What I hate about these initiatives is that there's no way for me to express my disgust at the suggestion that, say, women should have to ask me for permission to place ice hockey.
I mean, if there were an initiative on the ballot that prohibited women from playing professional ice hockey, I'd vote "no". But I'd wonder what was wrong that women should effectively have to ask me for permission to play ice hockey in the first place. Why should it matter what I think?
And, yeah, I can't help but wonder why gay people should effectively have to ask for my permission to get married.
Posted by: Ken Shultz | October 31, 2008 at 03:54 PM
@ Ken Shultz
It's a true pity not everyone feels or thinks the way you do, instead listening blindly instead of researching what they hear and validating it.
Posted by: Michichael | October 31, 2008 at 05:10 PM
David O. McKay led a Church whose founder, Joseph Smith married two fourteen-year old girls into polygamy. There were a few other teens in his harem too. Joseph Smith was notable. He used a magic rock and a black hat to translate golden plates written in Reformed Egyptian by a lost tribe of Jews whose language was Hebrew who traveled to the New World and became Native Americans. This is a bit baffling. Baffle them with bovine pies.
This is the stuff of gut splitting humor. The church that sowed the seed of polygamy that is even today enslaving young girls into marrying old church elders and dumping young boys on the streets had morphed like a hairy crawly worn like creature into a butterfly: The LDs Church has become the shinning light on the hill for traditional marriage.
Next time, you’re hit on by a nineteen-year old white shirt wearing bike riding LDS elder like a vulture swooping on road kill, ask about Fanny Alger. He will avoid the subject. He has been brainwashed into believing he shouldn’t feed you meat when milk will due. You aren’t ready for the truth yet. You need to be indoctrinated first.
We have evangelicals who call Mormonism a cult proving that an enemy of their enemy is their friend. Born agains are in bed with a cult over what adults do sexually. This is an odd coupling.
My parent’s Mormon family had 19 kids. Not one divorced. Today, gays marrying threaten marriages. Thee of little marital comment, go forth and sow the seeds of bigotry. Thanks for reminding my why I’ve distanced my life of Mormonism. Anything so funny can’t be true.
Posted by: Mike Johnson | October 31, 2008 at 09:09 PM
Also today we have - Why 'yes' on Proposition 8? By Maggie Gallagher,'Biology, not bigotry' is the foundation for the traditional form of marriage------
Keep in mind this is another paid and bought opinion. This is the same Maggie Gallagher who in was receiving payments of tens of thousands of dollars from the Department of Health and Human Services from 2002-2003 for helping the Bush administration promote the President's "healthy marriage" initiative. During this time, Gallagher testified before Congress repeatedly in favor of "healthy marriage" programs, but never disclosed the payments.
http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2006/12/1315-etiquette-of-bribery-how-to-grease.html
Posted by: Sacto | November 01, 2008 at 03:14 AM
See http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1129476/getting_prop_8_straight.html?post=true&cat=17 for the LAW on Prop. 8 before you vote on it.
Posted by: Jessie | November 01, 2008 at 04:55 AM
It's always a bad idea to put the civil rights of a minority up for popular vote. What would men in 1880 have said about suffragettes? How about white southerners in the 1950s and interracial marriage? Today, both issues are ho-hum. Gay marriage has been legal in MA for 5 years and the state is doing just fine. Straight people still get married, life goes on. The real problem here is allowing religious extremists to incite mob mentality against a minority for their own gain.
Posted by: Misha | November 01, 2008 at 05:44 AM
For public release
Presbyterians Against Proposition 8
October 28, 2008
Let us be absolutely clear that in our opposition to Proposition 8 we are asking nothing more than what already exists in the respectful balance between the beliefs and practices of our many faiths and California constitutional law.
Within the many communities of faith in our State we have conflicting doctrines and beliefs that already govern the practice of marriage.
Our Roman Catholic, Mormon and many of our evangelical churches do not and will not marry persons who are divorced. But that does not mean that those who are divorced are constitutionally prohibited from the right of legal marriage in our state.
Likewise, our Roman Catholic, Mormon, and some Jewish and Muslim faith traditions will not marry persons of different faith traditions. But that does not mean that interfaith couples, or those of no particular faith tradition, cannot be married in our state.
Our California constitution honors all religious traditions by respecting our differences about religious marriage while at the same time providing and protecting the right of all couples to marry the person of their choice.
Prop. 8 would ELIMINATE the constitutional right of same sex couples to marry. That is unfair and unjust. California constitutional law already honors and respects religious differences. No religious institution is forced to marry anyone. But that does not mean that any person in our state should lose their constitutional right for legal marriage.
I urge you to protect our constitutional rights as well as our right to religious diversity and pluralism by voting NO on Proposition 8.
Thank you.
#
Rev. Daniel E. Smith
Pastor, West Hollywood Presbyterain Church
7350 W. Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Ph: 323-874-6646
E: dsmith@wehopres.org
Worship Service: Sundays at 11 AM
West Hollywood Presbyterian Church
7350 Sunset Blvd at Martel St
(between LaBrea and Fairfax)
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323/874-6646
www.wehopres.org
Posted by: Stuart Falk | November 01, 2008 at 06:13 AM
In response to Presbyterians Against Proposition 8 - The first duty of a Christian church is to uphold the teachings of the Bible and to communicate those teachings in the pew. The Bible is very clear that homosexuality is wrong. Therefore, I can only conclude that since the Reverend Daniel E. Smith is based out of the West Hollywood Presbyterian Church on Sunset Blvd, he has obviously lost his Christian principles to the environmental and demographic secular forces that surround him. While Jesus and other holy men have prevailed in such scenarios, Reverend Daniel E. Smith has not.
Thanks for pointing out the location of your church. I will be sure to attend if I ever decide to go to church for a purely secular progressive experience.
Posted by: Samuel Newell | November 01, 2008 at 08:13 AM
The article by Maggie Gallagher makes the most sense of anything I've read so far. I'm voting YES on prop 8
Posted by: Paul Flynn | November 01, 2008 at 10:29 AM
I am a straight married man with a child. Do you know what will happen if Prop 8 passes? Nothing. The value and validity of my marriage remains unchanged. This idea that we need to "protect marriage" is nonsense. "Marriage" is not under siege due to prop 8.
Posted by: JayC | November 01, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Haven't we learned that "Separate but Equal" isn't?
First of all, I am a white, straight, conservative-leaning woman. But I can recognize prejudice, bigotry and hatred when I see it. And I see it clearly in Proposition 8.
Some of the more enlightened supporters of Prop 8 say that same-sex couples have other options available to them such as civil unions, etc. This is the same argument used to rationalize the doctrine of "separate but equal" for people of color. (If you are too young to remember this policy, ask an African-American over the age of 50 what it was like to live in Alabama in the 40's and 50's.)
The arguments in favor of Prop 8 - at least the ones that are not just scare tactics and baseless lies to rally the homophobes - are the same that allowed our country to institutionalize prejudice and segregation against our own citizens nearly a century after we abolished slavery.
When you apply rules and laws differently to different groups of people, you are guilty of prejudice. Plain and simple. Prop 8 will do this, allowing further differentiation and discrimination in the future. Will we only allow adoptions for "married" couples? Will there be different housing restrictions for "married" couples?
Come on people. Wake up. The "sanctity of marriage" is a ruse. If Prop 8 is defeated you will still be able to hate anyone you want, regardless of race, gender, religion, or even sexual orientation. You just cannot discriminate against them.
Please vote NO on Prop 8, and vote against legalized hate.
Posted by: Patti Vaitaitis | November 01, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Dear Samuel Newell: the Bible also forbids the eating of shrimp (Leviticus 11:9-12, Deuteronomy 10), play football with real pigskins (Lev. 5:2), the wearing of poly-cotton blends (Lev. 19:19), etc., etc., etc. The religious zealots supporting Prop. 8 pretend they know the Bible but pick and choose which parts to support in their own lives, which would make them ... ignorant or hypocritical.
Posted by: Rob McMillin | November 01, 2008 at 10:55 AM
Note to L.A. Times Blog readers: The following opinion contains satire (n.): "the use of ridicule, sarcasm, and irony to expose, attack, or deride vices and follies."
To whomever has stolen my No on 8 sign three times in North San Gabriel: Let me appeal to your practical side for a "No" vote, since my signs (with a tacked-on "Thou Shalt no Steal") haven't done the trick:
Same-sex marriage is the best way to tame wild, lustful gays and keep them home at night like other married people. It's far better to pair them up and let them keep tabs on each other than to have them roaming the streets at night passing for normal. Imagine if they were to target your son or daughter in a bar or nightclub, in a pathetic, doomed attempt to reform their lives and go straight--only to fall back into The Life later, leaving your kids broken-hearted and you grandchildless, with nothing to do on holidays.
It doesn't have to be this way. Contain the passion--ghettoize the problem.
Vote No on 8. Let freedom end with rings.
Posted by: laura | November 01, 2008 at 11:44 AM
How Christian to sit in judgment of another and worst of all using the Bible as a weapon. Not too long ago, Afrikaners used it to legitimize apartheid and left handed people were thought to be possessed by the devil.
Whatever happened to love thy neighbor?
Posted by: Julie Krehan | November 01, 2008 at 12:06 PM
The lengths that those who oppose Proposition 8 will go to would be laughable if they were now so pathetic. The Revend Daniel E. Smith's comments on Mormon doctrine not marrying divocees and people of differing faiths are just plain wrong. Something I know from personal experience, not reading or hearing it somewhere. The former Mormon, continues to spread lies and disinformation that, again, would be laughable if it were not so pathetic and of course his words represent an unbiased opinion, don't they? No matter what Ms. Gallagher's background is, it has no bearing on her premise that marriage is about biology and the survival of the species. We have already seen the results of children being raised in fatherless families in our inner cities, do we really want to distort the nuclear family even more? Even the current Democratic candidate for President has called for fathers to step up and raise their children themselves rather than leaving it to others. Lastly smearing a donor of any amount because you don't agree with his views is the worst form of bigotry.
Posted by: Candace | November 01, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Simple answer: Vote Yes on 8.
Posted by: Proposition Wonderer | November 01, 2008 at 12:29 PM
MARRIAGE the western world form came from Judeo-Christianity in connection with traditional family's of dad/mom and kids. Marriage is intended for uniting the two human genders amle and female also for taditional family's of mom/dad and kids. All kids when possible deserve both a mom and a dad not two or three moms. The Oxford English Dictionary 3rd edition informs-marriage is a union of a man and a woman who become husband and wife. Words do have meaning and history in them. NOTE- History, Tradition, Spirituality and Naturalism all confirm marriage is exclusively intended as a union for a man and a woman- the two human genders which is the complete human race.
Posted by: Larry | November 01, 2008 at 01:15 PM
In anything other than a democracy, the LDS church would be considered a cult. It would also be considered criminal. Until the very recent past, racism flourished. Marriage with multiple under-aged girls prevailed. This church along with others has forced thousands of wonderful, kind, God loving people to fight and fund a battle against bigots. 60 MILLION DOLLARS down the drain. How about asking ourselves this question. What would God do with 60 million dollars?
I have a funny feeling it would have something to do with the poor, homeless and sick. NOT A CAMPAIGN OF HATE.
We, as a whole should be ashamed of ourselves.
Posted by: Lourdes Rivas | November 01, 2008 at 02:11 PM
To those that "know "the bible: grow up! You do not read ancient Hebrew or Aramaic., do you? Everything you think you know has been translated and rewritten by men of a certain time, place and political philosophy. Therefore, nothing in it is infallible. What is certain is that we have the intellect and free will to analyze our world as we know it and make the best of it. Prop 8 is unfair and will do nothing to change the world for the better.
Also: if you're not a constitutional scholar with a JD and PhD, what makes you think you can put Prop 8 in context, and predict the fallout? The resulting chaos if Prop 8 passes will have to be sorted out by JDs & judges, so they'll have the last work anyway. The only thing Prop 8 supporters can be sure of is clogged courts and wasted resources. Let those with expertise in lawmaking do their jobs. The legislature, governor and courts all oppose Prop 8.
Posted by: Marco Luxe | November 01, 2008 at 02:47 PM
Who keeps stealing my signs? Oh, I forgot. Silly me. Free speech only applies to the prop 8 opponents. Free speech doesn't apply if you speak in favor of good, moral principles. Stop the hate, indeed. Equality for all, except for religious parents. Nothing against gays, but there is something very hypocritical about your campaign. Silly moral people: why don't you just keep quiet and let the activists indoctrinate your children?
Posted by: Dan | November 01, 2008 at 02:48 PM
Michichael: "The church that ... is even today enslaving young girls into marrying old church elders." You can't be serious. Do you plan to deceive others as well?
Posted by: Frank | November 01, 2008 at 02:52 PM
It takes the money of guys like John Ashton to offset the bias of the entire news media, the superintendent of California schools, the California attorney general, the supreme court, multiple elected officials, etc. I'm amazed at how many high-profile leaders in CA want to destroy laws based on good, moral principles. It's time to protect our children. Only 96% of schools will be required to teach gay marriage in kindergarten if prop 8 fails. How about parents teach their own children about sexuality at the time of their choosing?
Posted by: Peter | November 01, 2008 at 03:01 PM
It's a sad day in California history when powerful, wealthy churches are able to scare people into doing their bidding.
Posted by: Jennifer | November 01, 2008 at 04:20 PM