end-of-day links-I've-found roundup

I thought people should read this opinion piece from the Advocate which highlights what I suppose might be called the positive effect of Prop. 8.

This piece in the Huffington Post talks about why the decisions in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas are particularly crushing in light of Obama's victory.

Finally, a petition to revoke the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' tax-exempt status. I confess to mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, Mormons funded a huge percentage of the Yes On 8 campaign. The church leaders commanded their members to donate, and those who opposed the measure were threatened with excommunication. For an organization to attempt to force its members to vote a certain way or fund a certain political cause is morally wrong and legally dubious, especially for a nonprofit. For a church to go to such levels to put its values into law is contrary to the American value of separation of church and state, and should not be encouraged. So I would say there's a very good argument to be made for taking away the Mormons' tax-exempt status, since they're abusing it.

On the other hand, it feels like a waste of effort. We need to be fighting for ourselves right now, not against them. We need to be doing our damnedest to get our rights back, to get the people on our side. And I recognize that crippling our opponents financially might be part of that, if it comes down to putting a new law on the ballot, and in that sense one could say that stripping the Mormons of their tax-exempt status would be somewhat helpful, but would it really be more useful than working extra hard on our own fundraising? Is this really a productive action, or is it just vengeance?

In the interest of full disclosure, I signed the petition, because I do believe it's justified and since there is a movement I want it to be a strong one, but I did so in haste and I still am not sure it was the right thing to do. I advise you to think about it carefully before deciding what to do.