mormon_proposition_posterThis is the case to overturn Proposition 8, the Mormon-backed initiative that wiped out the ability of gays and lesbians to marry in California.

Most analysts say the U.S. District Court judge will void the proposition, but you never know.

The case against to overturn Prop. 8—and make gay marriage legal again—was led by David Boies and Ted Olsen. The pair got a lot of notice because they were on opposite sides of Bush v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that handed the 2000 election to George W. Bush.

From the SF Chronicle:

Walker’s ruling, due sometime between 1 and 3 p.m., is certain to be appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 or 2012.

Meanwhile, a new study shows that the millions the Mormons spent spreading misinformation to California families worked.

From the LAT:

The numbers are staggering. In the last six weeks, when both sides saturated the airwaves with television ads, more than 687,000 voters changed their minds and decided to oppose same-sex marriage. More than 500,000 of those, the data suggest, were parents with children under 18 living at home. Because the proposition passed by 600,000 votes, this shift alone more than handed victory to proponents.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise. The Yes on 8 campaign targeted parents in its TV ads. “Mom! Guess what I learned in school today!” were the cheery-frightening first words of the supporters' most-broadcast ad. They emerged from the mouth of a young girl who had supposedly just learned that she could marry a female when she grew up.

Among the array of untrue ideas that parents could easily take away: that impressionable kids would be indoctrinated; that they would learn about gay sex; that they would be more likely to become gay; and that they might choose to be gay. California voters, depending on where they lived in the state, were exposed to the Yes on 8 ads 20 to 40 times.

If you haven’t seen it, Netflix 8: The Mormon Proposition, a fairly rigorous documentary that examines the national campaign the Mormons waged against the proposition.

It’s nice—a supposed church collecting money from its flock under the guise of doing good works, and then using it to spread hate and intolerance.

Churches get a pass in our political debate—everyone’s scared to criticize groups that run around with the idea of morality draped about them.

But why can’t we call bigots bigots?

Why don’t they build tolerance rather than spread intolerance?