As a Mormon, gay rights advocate and Californian, my corner of the internet exploded on Tuesday morning when news broke that a federal appeals court ruled Proposition 8, the California proposition that removed the right to marry from gays and lesbians, unconstitutional. My gay friends and their allies rejoiced as we talked about weddings we looked forward to attending, and many of my Latter Day Saint friends and ward members mourned a loss to their cause. The church reacted to the decision with a press release that called for civility, and included the curious statement, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regrets today's decision. California voters have twice determined in a general election that marriage should be recognised as only between a man and a woman. We have always had that view."
Anyone with a bare knowledge of Mormon history would know that's simply not true. This one statement encapsulates the bitter irony surrounding this long battle: that a religious group known for its history of polygamy would be the group bearing the standard for "traditional marriage".
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