While the Mormons have received the majority of press for their financial support of Proposition 8 (over $20 million), Catholics and the Catholic Church have also played a major role in its passage.

Announced August 12, 2008, Catholics for ProtectMarriage.com was established as the official Catholic grassroots effort dedicated to passing Proposition 8. It’s members include the Knights of Columbus (who donated over 1.4 million in support of Prop 8), the California Catholic Conference and Catholics for the Common Good.

Catholics for the Common Good (CCG) based in Daly City just outside of San Francisco, mobilized local Catholics through prayer, education, fundraising and volunteering to pass Proposition 8. Catholics also played a large role in the passage of Proposition 22 in 2000 which defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.

CCG is chaired by founder Bill (William) May, a professor of Moral Theology who also serves as a chair for Catholics for Protectmarriage.com. May has also appeared on various media outlets throughout the SF Bay area speaking against Proposition 8.

In an interview with the Catholic Voice in early September 2008, May said, “We’re asking people to volunteer to help in parishes, to participate in telephoning, talking with neighbors. This is a really important issue. Marriage is the foundation of the family. People are very upset that the Supreme Court overruled the will of the people.”

Also in September, May sent out a plea to Catholics urging them to make sacrifices and re-order priorities, recruit volunteers and acquire and distribute yard signs.

May appears in the television clips below.

In addition to supporting traditional over same-sex marriage, May also rejected adoption by same-sex couples in 2006, then performed by Catholic Charities of San Francisco. May cited an official Vatican document that stated “Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development.” and are “Gravely immoral.”

May and the CCG are also enthusiastic supporters of Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco, who was accused by the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) for protecting pedophile priests in the San Francisco Archdiocese, by refusing to post names of priests who were accused of sex abuse. Levada also opposed domestic partnerships in San Francisco back in 1997 as an attack on the sacrament of marriage. Levada now serves in Rome leading the Vatican’s investigation of hundreds of ordained clergymen suspended from public ministry amid allegations they had sexually abused children. May has also personally praised Levada for speaking out against gay marriage.

May spoke at length recently with in an interview with the Catholic Business Journal about Proposition 8, describing it as the most important vote in California history.

“At this point we are beyond tolerance and acceptance, and we are now facing compliance and obedience to a new standard of marriage, of the human person. People have been tolerant and accepting as a culture – but this law, this court decision, has changed the standard and created a new one… Catholics and others who understand the meaning and nature of marriage will be counter-cultural and seen as discriminatory or bigoted. It opens the way for lawsuits and challenges to tax exemption.

“The stakes are high. We are battling for the survival of the family as we know it, as God established it… Proposition 8, the Marriage Protection Act, is the most important thing that has ever been on the ballot in California history! People around the world are watching carefully.”

It’s clear now that the strong push by Catholics of ProtectMarriage.com and other Catholics groups were ultimately successful. In a field poll one week prior to the election, Catholics accounted for 24% of the electorate, voting 44% Yes on 8. Exit polls on election day showed Catholics accounting for 30% of the electorate and 64% voting Yes on 8, an increase of 20%.

Assuming the projections in the exit polls hold across the entire voting population, of the 10.3 million Californians who voted, approximate 3 million were Catholic, and nearly 2 million of those voted Yes on Proposition 8. That’s a 1 million voter difference in the final week prior to election day.

By comparison, in CNN exit polls African Americans accounted for 1 million of the Californian voting electorate, 70% voting Yes, or seven hundred thousand voters.

Many believe the high voter turnout of African Americans led to the passage of Proposition 8. What about the Catholics?

Melissa Etheridge wrote an interesting piece for the Daily Beast concerning Proposition 8.

“Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.”

While I appreciate Etheridge’s sentiment, I have mixed feelings about her approach. The state didn’t take away our right to marry, the people of California did (with the Mormon and Catholic churches aiding and abetting). Twice the California legislature passed a same-sex marriage bill and twice Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it. But to the Governor’s credit he was against Proposition 8 and voted against it.

I think our time is better spent shining a spotlight on the Mormon and Catholic church’s involvement and putting their tax exemption status on the table. Hitt’em in the pocket book where it hurts.

To learn more visit How to file an IRS 501(c)(3) for the the LDS Church

After the passage of Proposition 8, there was a brief collective breath, and then it began…

• Opponents of Prop 8 march in West Hollywood (11/05/08)
• No on 8 supporters hold vigil at SF City Hall (11/05/08)
• 3000 protestors march on Mormon temple in Los Angeles (11/06/08)
• Protest march in downtown San Francisco (11/07/08)
• Protest against Focus on the Family in Chicago (11/8/08)
• Rally Against Bigotry at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco (11/9/08)

Protests are also being organized in Long Beach, Boston and Salt Lake City.

You will find a very comprehensive list at Queers United.

In addition, several petitions are gaining traction on the internet. Here and here.

And finally, three lawsuits have been filed against Prop 8.

We will fight this thing. And we will win.

While we may have lost this particular battle, we certainly haven’t lost the fight. We and are allies mobilized like never before, and along the way I’m sure there were many acts of courage, both large and small, that made the margin between Yes and No razor thin.

Below is one such story. Gino VanGundy did something many of us would not have the courage to do: engage a “Yes on 8” supporter in their home and share how we feel about the issue, in the hopes of getting them to rethink their perceptions about marriage equality, and perhaps, us. But often we fall back on those feelings that kept us in the closet when confronting total strangers we fear are against us, to share who we are and where we stand. This makes Gino’s story all the more relevant.

If you have any stories or someone you would like to give tribute to or who inspired you, please email me at [email protected]. I would love to post them here to inspire members of our community to be proud of who they are, to take a stand, and to make a difference.

Here’s Gino, in his own words, just a few days before the election…

Do you live in the suburbs? Are you tired of seeing the YES on Prop 8 signs everywhere and feeling like our voices are being drowned out by those that want to deny us (or your friends) our civil rights? I, for one, AM! They have even been coming to my front door. I have always taken the “nice guy” approach with them because mamma always said, “you can get much further with a teaspoon of honey than you can with a teaspoon of vinegar.” Speaking with them has been interesting, at best, but each time one leaves I find myself wondering, why the NO folks aren’t out there going door to door too. They have been coming to my door specifically because of the NO signs I have in my yard. Why shouldn’t we do the same?

About two weeks ago, as we were driving out of town on our daily trek from Fairfield to San Francisco (at 6am!) we were greeted by the largest YES banner we had ever seen! It was huge and stood about 12 feet in the air, was at least 6 feet wide and 4 feet high. Every morning for the last two weeks we have seen that sign staring down at us. To say that it has been an unpleasant way to start our day would be an understatement.

Today it hit me! If they can come to my front door, why can’t I go to theirs? I was admittedly terrified but decided that my first stop would be the house with the gigantic banner. I sat in my car for at least ten minutes as I mustered up the courage to actually ring the door bell. I thought, “deep breaths Gino, and just put one foot in front of the other” as I walked up the front walkway. I rang to doorbell and every natural instinct I had told me to run like hell! I stayed put and just as I was about to high-tail it out of there I heard the locks on the front door start to click. I was stuck! UGGH!

As the door slowly opened I was greeted by an older African American woman of about 75. Behind her stood a younger African American woman that was staring me down like I was not someone to be trusted. I smiled and introduced myself as a neighbor. I went on to ask them if they might be willing to discuss the banner that was looming over the busy street below. I sensed some indignation as in “who the hell are you to be telling me that I can’t put any damn sign I want in my yard?” I backpedaled and let them know that I believed it to be their right to hang whatever sign they choose and I went on to tell them that I was not there to attack them on their personal beliefs. I told them I was there to offer them a point of reference when thinking about the impact a YES vote on Prop 8 would have. “Well, what’s it matter to you? What are YOUR thoughts on the issue,” the younger woman said as she stepped out from behind the older woman. I took a big gulp and leapt right in! “Well,” I said, “for starters, I’m gay and the passage of Prop 8 would eliminate my right to equality under our Constitution.” Suddenly the older woman’s face softened and she said, “Well my sister works in San Francisco and she has a lot of gay friends and she wants me to take that damn thing down.” I saw an “in” but I waited for her to finish. “All this stuff is just too confusing to me! I’m not even a registered voter. Some guy knocked on my door and asked if he could put a sign in my yard to support some proposition. I told him that I didn’t care and the next time I went outside I looked up and saw this gigantic sign in MY BACKYARD!” “I never agreed to let him in my backyard he must have had a ladder because my gate is always locked.” “I’m just too old to get up there and take that thing down.” I had my in! “Oh, well if you’d like ME to take it down, I’d be happy to do that for you!” “Fine by me,” she said.

Unfortunately they did not have the key to the gate but I told them that I was more than happy to come back later when the person that had the key had returned. An hour later my daughter and I returned with our tools in hand and they happily let us into the backyard. Down came the sign, hugs given by all and my daughter and I expressed our sincerest appreciation as we left.

If you have thought of knocking on doors, now is the time. We have to get out and educate those that are blindly following, or worse, have been tricked into supporting something they do not fully understand. Be heard “stand up” and take the lumps that will surely come but know that there are people out there that support us but need some help to do it. One sign and one person at a time we can, at minimum, start to turn this dangerous tide.

A photo of the poster is below.