Recently in Prop 8 Category

From the Salt Lake Tribune: "Gay couple cuffed, cited after kiss near LDS temple."

A gay couple says they were detained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints security guards after one man kissed another on the cheek Thursday on Main Street Plaza.

"They targeted us," said Matt Aune, 28. "We weren't doing anything inappropriate or illegal, or anything most people would consider inappropriate for any other couple."

Aune and his partner, Derek Jones, 25, were cited by Salt Lake City police for trespassing on the plaza, located at 50 East North Temple, according to Sgt. Robin Snyder.

In a written statement, church spokeswoman Kim Farah denied the two were singled out for being gay.

"Two individuals came on church property and were politely asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior -- just as any other couple would have been," she said. She declined to comment on what is considered inappropriate behavior, and on the rules governing the plaza.

At the Salt Lake Tribune, "Petition urges LDS Church to soften stance on gays," reporting efforts of a collection of LDS and ex-LDS to lobby the LDS Church by delivering a petition reproving its stand on Prop 8. According to the article, "The committee plans to deliver the petition to top LDS leaders Nov. 4, the first anniversary of Prop 8's passage." The headline is somewhat misleading -- the LDS Church has already softened its stance on gays within the Church. What the petitioners want is for the Church to change its opposition to gay marriage in particular.

That's the headline in a longish Time story on Mormons, "The Church and Gay Marriage: Are Mormons Misunderstood?" It's a fairly balanced story, although the author still manages to impute "seamless unity" to the Mormon community while, at the same time, quoting two Mormons (a gay activist and the editor of an independent Mormon periodical) who plainly voice their own opinions, as can any Mormon who wants to. Interestingly, when the story was first posted last week, it carried a different title, "The Storm Over the Mormons." Here are the first couple of paragraphs.

At Get Religion, "The Mormons are coming!", taking issue with aspects of a Washington Post article of the same name. I would summarize the general problem in simpler terms: some journalists in the mainstream press believe their own propaganda, which they use to frame most stories and to select friendly facts. Let's look at an example from the Get Religion post, then hit the larger issue of what the post reveals about the evolving use of Mormonism as a symbol.

As expected, the California Supreme Court upheld the propriety of Proposition 8's amendment to the state constitution in an opinion released today, but left same-sex marriages performed since May 2008 in force. Here's from the LA Times story:

The California Supreme Court today upheld Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage but also ruled that gay couples who wed before the election will continue to be married under state law.

The decision virtually ensures another fight at the ballot box over marriage rights for gays. Gay rights activists say they may ask voters to repeal the marriage ban as early as next year, and opponents have pledged to fight any such effort. Proposition 8 passed with 52% of the vote.