Box Turtle Bulletin

Quip of the Day

In a Letter to the Editor printed in the Salt Lake Tribune, Christian England concluded as follows:

You may think we’re out to convert your children and run the world, but we’re not the ones with missionaries.

Californians Against Hate: Mormon-Established “Front Group” Handled Early Prop 8 Finances

Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate has been leading the legal battle to force the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) to reveal its full involvement in California’s Yes on 8 campaign as required by state law. Karger filed a supplemental complaint on Wednesday with California’s Fair Political Practices committee charging that the Mormon church failed to reveal its earlier involvement in Prop 8, particularly through a front organization they had set up called the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) in the summer of 2007. This front group is similar to one the LDS church set up in Hawaii ten years earlier.

Karger charges that while early donations by several prominent Catholic doners were reported as required by law (Including hotel owner Doug Manchester [125,000], Terry Caster and his family who own A-1 Self Storage [$283,000], car dealer [Robert Hoehn [$25,000] and the Knights of Columbus [$250,000]), none of the early Mormon contributors are listed. Karger asks:

Did they do polling as they did in Hawaii? Did the Church incur legal bills as they did in Hawaii? How about travel expenses, as in Hawaii? What about staff time, as they reported after the fact in California? These expenses should be easy to identify as a part of the current investigation.

The Mormon Church engages in extensive record keeping. All requests for funds are assigned an 11 digit Cost Center Number (i.e. 123-4567-899). Cost Center records should be readily available for 2007 and 2008, which would show all the money spent to create NOM. Additionally, the Mormon Church maintains records on its “Historical Material Management System” (HMMS).

Mormon Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton were all working on California’s Proposition 8 and their files and records should be able to substantiate these charges.
The Mormon Church should have disclosed all non monetary contributions made during the relevant reporting periods.

Documentation related to the LDS church’s activities have been uploaded to a new web site established by Fred Karger at Mormongate.com.

Karger filed his original complaint on November 13, 2008, charging that the LDS church had failed to report its monetary and non-monetary contributions to the passage of Proposition 8. The following day, the Mormon Church spokesman Scott Trotter responded through the LDS-owned newspaper, the Deseret News, that the allegations were “false” and that the complaint had “many errors and misstatements.” But on January 30, 2009, the Mormon church revealed that it was they who had lied about their financial involvement in the Prop 8 campaign.

Illinios Civil Unions Goes to House Floor

Despite the efforts of Elise and her Mormon e-mail distribution, HB2234, the Illinios civil unions bill, has passed out of committee.

The House Youth and Family Committee approved the bill 5-4. It now goes to the House floor.

Update On That Mormon Email: LDS Backs Away

According to one of our regular commenters, the LDS church is washing its hands of the email sent by one of its bishops to his Nauvoo, Illinois ward urging them to call on state legislators to quash a civil unions bill. I’m still looking for an original source, but in the meantime I’ll go ahead and pass this on:

As is widely known, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of traditional marriage. The Church has not taken a position on any legislation currently being considered by the Illinois State Legislature. The Church did not send an e-mail to its members in regards to House Bill 2234, although a false report to the contrary has been circulated. An e-mail was sent from a local Illinois Church leader to his congregation – one of 129 congregations in the state — who was free to express his own views.”

-Scott Trotter, Church spokesman

Contrary to how Trotter characterizes our reporting on this, I thought I explained it pretty clearly. This came from one bishop in one ward. In my post, I said “at least one ward” because I find it hard to believe that members of this ward were the only ones to receive such a message. I think the LDS church’s recent history in California and Arizona certainly gives all of us plenty of reasons to be suspicious. Given what we’ve learned about their “phone trees” and the closed-circuit satellite television system linking virtually all the wards — and now a private internal online system — I can’t think of any other organization with anything approaching the sophisticated, well-organized capabilities that the LDS church possesses. I believe it’s important to remain vigilant to every “squeak” which happens to leak out.

As to whether the church has a position on the civil unions bill before the state legislature, I confess I don’t know their inner workings. I’ll allow you to consider the church’s credibility when they speak to their positions. You know them by their fruits, after all. Again, let recent history be your guide.

Be that as it may, the LDS leadership is clearly backing away from this latest spate of publicity, and Bishop Church appears to be following their lead. I was just tipped to another email sent to Nauvoo’s 3rd ward:

From: Chris Church
Date: March 4, 2009 1:58:47 PM CST
Subject: Church Position on Legislation

Members of the Church may take any action they wish concerning legislation but the Church does not take any position in relation to these issues.

Bishop Church

HRC Calls For Action In Illinois

Responding to our post about the email blast sent from a Nauvoo, Illinois bishop to members of his ward, the Human Rights Campaign has issued an action alert asking supporters call their representatives to urge passage of a proposed civil unions bill. The HRC also calls on supporters to contact the Mormon Temple in Nauvoo to express their displeasure over the church’s “deceitful and fear-mongering email.”

The HRC’s message recalls the highly visible position the Mormon church took in California’s and Arizona’s 2008 anti-marriage ballot initiatives, as well as the recent dumping of even the most minimal protections for same-sex couples in Utah. They also noted that many of the same false claims that made their way into the California campaign has also turned up in the Nauvoo email.

The HRC’s message continues:

No more lies! Church leaders want to spread their distortions in secrecy, but it’s time to shine a light on their insidious and devious work. And you can help!

Please let the Nauvoo Illinois Mormon Temple — the church responsible for authorizing this deceitful and fear-mongering email — know that enough is enough. No more lies. No more secrecy. You can reach them by calling (217) 453-6252.

Then take a moment and let members of the Youth and Family Committee in the Illinois State Legislature know that you support The Civil Union Bill (HB 2234).

Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago)
Chairperson
(217) 782-3835

Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago)
Vice-Chairperson
(217) 782-5962

Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago)
Republican Spokesperson
(217) 782-1653

Rep. William D. Burns (D-Chicago)
(217) 782-2023

Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (D-Chicago)
(217) 782-8182

Rep. Al Riley (D-Matteson)
(217) 558-1007

Rep. Dave Winters (R-Rockford)
(217) 782-0455

Directions for identifying your legislators:

Click here to identify your state legislators and their contact information and enter your 9 digit zip code. If this link doesn’t work, you can also click here and then click on “legislator lookup” near the bottom of the page, then click on “by zip+4”. Type in your zip code, and you’ll see a list of your legislators. Make sure you contact your own state senator and state representative. It is important they hear the voices of pro-equality Illinois voters before they vote on this bill.

Mormon Machine Cranking Up Against Illinois Civil Unions Bill

Note (March 4): When this was first published yesterday, the post title indicated that this was a BTB “exclusive.” This morning, I’m now seeing other versions of the email on the web with the sender’s name and email included. Since I had originally redacted that name and email, it’s clear that others have independently received copies of the same email. I am therefore restoring the email to its original form with the info included.

Update (March 5): I have re-redacted the sender’s name and email address in response to a request from the sender’s relative.

The Illinois House will begin considering another Civil Unions bill this week. Introduced by Rep. Greg Harris on February 20, HB 2234 has been assigned to the Youth and Family Committee, which will hold a hearing on Thursday. We’ve received word that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has engaged its private communications network to bombard state legislators with phone calls in opposition to the bill.

The Mormon Church maintains a private internet social-networking and website service in lieu of individual churches having their own individual Internet web sites. This allows the church to oversee the information that is made available to members and nonmembers. It also allows the church to maintain private information that is only made available to church members.

Official LDS Stake and Ward Web Site (Click to enlarge)

Among the many capabilities the web site has for members who are authorized to log in is the ability to send private email to other church members in the same ward. It also allows a ward bishop to send a blanket email to all members of his ward, and it allows a stake president to send a blanket email to all members of his stake.

But this is key: no individual member can send a blanket email to all members of his ward without it first going through his or her bishop. The same is true at the stake level, where the stake president would have to first authorize the message. So when a church member receives a broadcast message, he or she can be assured that it has the blessing, so to speak, of the bishop or stake president.

In a private email sent out to LDS members of at least one ward in Illinois, church members are being encouraged to call their representative to voice their opposition to the bill, which would provide same-sex couples with recognition and limited protections under Illinois law. But the official LDS-sanctioned email to members is loaded with much of the same misinformation that was present in the campaign against California’s Proposition 8.

A trusted source sent me a copy of that email, authorized by Bishop Chris Church, of the Nauvoo, Illinois 3rd Ward, which was sent out by that web site’s ward administrator:

From: [Redacted]
Date: March 3, 2009 12:27:59 PM CST
Subject: Civil Union bill scheduled for a hearing Thursday – calls needed

This message has been authorized for sending by Bishop Church.

The Civil Union Bill (HB 2234) has been scheduled for a hearing in the Youth and Family Committee this week on Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in Springfield. If the bill is voted out of committee, it becomes eligible for a vote before the full Illinois House of Representatives. This bill will legalize civil unions in the state of Illinois, and will treat such civil unions with the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections and benefits as are afforded within marriage. In other words, civil unions will be different in name only from marriage. As has already been seen in Massachusetts, this will empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise. It will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores; the current push in Massachusetts is to recognize and legalize all transgender rights (An individual in Massachusetts can now change their drivers license to the gender they believe themselves to be, regardless of actual gender, which means that confused men and women are now legally entering one another’s bathrooms and locker rooms. What kind of a safety issue is this for our children?). Furthermore, while the bill legalizes civil unions, it will be used in the courts to show discrimination and will ultimately lead to court mandated same-sex marriages.

To help defeat this bill, please call your state representative and state senator and ask that they support traditional marriage and vote against the civil unions bill. If you are unsure who your legislators are, please see the link at the end of this email.

Also, please take a moment and call the following members of the Youth and Family Committee to encourage them to vote no on this bill. We need 4 votes to keep it from passing out of the committee. And – as always, please pass this on to all who believe in protecting our families and our children. If you are interested in attending the hearing, it will be held on Thursday, March 5th at 9:00 a.m. in Springfield in Room 122B of the Capitol Building (I can give you directions to the Capitol Building if needed).

Members of the Youth and Family Committee:
Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) (Greg Harris is also the sponsor of this bill, but he needs to hear your opposition to this bill)
Chairperson
217-782-3835

Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago)
Vice-Chairperson
217-782-5962

Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago)
Republican Spokesperson
217-782-1653

Rep. William D. Burns (D-Chicago)
217-782-2023

Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (R-Chicago)
217-782-8182

Rep. Al Riley (D-Matteson)
217-558-1007

Rep. Dave Winters (R-Rockford)
217-782-0455

Directions for identifying your legislators:
You can use the following link to identify your state legislators and their contact information: http://www.elections.il.gov/ DistrictLocator/ SelectSearchType.aspx? NavLink=1 (and enter your 9 digit zip code). If this link doesn’t work, you can use the general link www.ilga.gov and then click on ” legislator lookup” near the bottom of the page, then click on “by zip+4”. Type in your zip code, and you’ll see a list of your legislators. You want your state senator and state representative as they will be the ones voting on the bill.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sister [Redacted].

I don’t ordinarily have access to internal LDS communications like this. This is a very rare glimpse into how the LDS church is able to crank up its membership for political action. If this message is going out in one ward in Nauvoo, it’s a safe bet that similar messages are going out in other wards and stakes.

Update: Bishop Church has sent another message to his ward this afternoon:

From: Chris Church
Date: March 4, 2009 1:58:47 PM CST
Subject: Church Position on Legislation

Members of the Church may take any action they wish concerning legislation but the Church does not take any position in relation to these issues.

Bishop Church

I have more about that here.

A Tale of Two Parties

There must have been two different parties on Saturday in Salt Lake City, both of them sharing the name “Buttars-Palooza.” How else would one explain the two very different estimates of crowd size. First, the Salt Lake Tribune:

More than a thousand people converged on the Utah Capitol on Saturday, not for legislative protest, but to party.

Couples, families and individuals danced on the south lawn to live music at “Buttars-Palooza,” a festival meant to exploit the audacity of Utah Sen. Chris Buttars’ now-famous comments about gays.

The LDS church-owned Deseret News had a different estimate:

The crowd of 300 or so cheered and waved rainbow flags.

“We are all here as part of something larger, something that is a little bit more threatening to Chris Buttars than the gay-rights movement,” said Araveni Olivares, a local activist. “We are part of a lasting movement for civil rights and social justice.”

The Deseret News’ coverage has taken a considerable turn lately, so much so that News reporters recently refused to allow their names to appear in their stories’ bylines in protest over editorial policy changes. Two well-respected editors, Chuck Gates and Julianne Basinger, were demoted after having criticized the paper for tailoring the paper’s content to be more pleasing to LDS readers.

More Proof: Buttars Sanctioned for Being An Embarrasment, Not for Being A Bigot

Timothy and I both noticed that as Utah State Senate President Michael Waddoups explained his reasons for sanctioning State Sen. Chris Buttars, it wasn’t because the GOP caucus disagreed with what Buttars said, but that they were embarrassed with how he said it.

Well if there was any doubt, there’s more proof in this latest article from the Salt Lake Tribune posted late yesterday evening:

Senate leaders did not discipline Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, for anti-gay comments he made in a recent interview, but because he violated a deal with leadership that he not talk about gay issues, a senator said Saturday.

“Most of what Senator Buttars said, I agree with,” Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said in a weekly Red Meat Radio program he hosts on K-TALK. “We as a Senate caucus had an agreement that because Sen. Buttars had become such a lightning rod on this issue, he would not be the spokesman on this issue and basically he violated that agreement.” …”It happened, not because he said a lot of things wrong, but because he decided to be the spokesman again,” Stephenson said.

Buttars, a former LDS bishop, came under fire when, in an interview with reporter Reed Cowan, he compared gays to radical Muslims, said they had no morals, and called them “probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of.” When Utah State Senate Democrats threatened to bring the issue up on the Senate floor, Waddoups called a news conference on Friday where he announced that Buttars would be relieved of his chairmanship of two committees.

But notice that during that press conference, Waddoups refused to condemn what Buttars said. In fact, he said that “We agree with many of the things he said. … We stand four square behind his right [to say what he wants].” He also said that removing Buttars from the two committee chairmanships “frees Senator Buttars to feel more at ease in saying how he personally feels without feeling as if he’s personally speaking on behalf of his committee and the Legislature.”

So why was Buttars sanctioned if they didn’t disagree with what he said? According to Sen. Stephenson:

Senate Republicans, including Buttars, reached an agreement at a day-long caucus Dec. 13 that, because he was such a polarizing figure, Buttars should not comment on gay issues. That included a prohibition on speaking to the Common Ground bills that sought some equal rights for gays.

But Buttars didn’t stay on the sidelines for long. Just a month later, he sat down with documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan for the hour-long interview for a project on California’s Proposition 8 against gay marriage, in which Buttars made the inflammatory statements.

Stephenson did disagree with Buttars on one thing. He was miffed that Buttars hogged the credit for killing every piece of gay-rights legislation to hit the Senate in the past eight years. Stephenson wants us to know that others should get some of the credit:

“For him to claim the glory for that, truly he’s delusional on this issue,” Stephenson said.

[Hat tip: Stefano]

“Buttarsaurus”: Salt Lake Tribune Condemns Sen. Buttars

The editors of the Salt Lake Tribune has done something that the Utah GOP Senate leadership couldn’t muster the courage to do: condemn Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars for his remarks equating gays with radical Muslims, saying that gays have no morals, and describing them as being “probably the greatest threat to America.” As Timothy and I have both noted, the GOP appears embarrassed not by what the former LDS bishop said, but by how he said it.

The Tribune expressed dismay but not surprise over State Senate President Michael Waddoup’s weak and  half-hearted response in “disciplining” Buttars:

Or we could urge the Senate to discipline its wayward son. But Senate President Michael Waddoups has already defended Buttars, ridiculously portraying him as the victim of an unscrupulous filmmaker. Besides, Buttars has said equally hateful things in the past without censure.

The Tribune rightly calls Buttars “an embarrassment to the state of Utah, and, increasingly, a dinosaur,” and notes the irony that whenever Buttars opens his mouth, his opponents are strengthened, not weakened. “ He is, in our opinion, the best spokesperson that Utah’s LGBT community has ever had,” wrote the editors.

The other major Utah newspaper, the LDS-owned Deseret News, has no opinion on the matter.

Was Buttars Punished Or Rewarded?

I thought Timothy Kincaid really nailed it when he concluded:

The Mormons and the Republicans were sure upset that the tape of [Utah State Sen. Chris] Buttars was released. But it wasn’t because they find the attitude behind his anti-gay rants to be offensive. They just didn’t like how Buttars’ raw hatred reflected on them.

He based that conclusion in part on this statement by Senate President Michael Waddoups as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune:

“He is a senator who represents the point of view of many of his constituents and many of ours. We agree with many of the things he said. . . . We stand four square behind his right [to say what he wants].”

But there’s something else that jumped out at me later in that same article. It’s this:

“It [Buttars’ removal from the committees] frees Senator Buttars to feel more at ease in saying how he personally feels without feeling as if he’s personally speaking on behalf of his committee and the Legislature,” Waddoups said.

So let’s put all this together, shall we?

• The Utah GOP “agree(s) with many of the things he said,” and,
• Now that Waddoups did Buttars the favor of removing him from the committees, it “frees Senator Buttars to feel more at ease in saying how he personally feels.”

So, when the Senate decided to remove Buttars, a former LDS bishop, from two committees, was it a sanction for saying the wrong thing? Or was it a reward that gives Buttars free reign so that he can now tell us what he really thinks? Because I have to tell you, the way Waddoups frames his actions it really sounds more like the latter.

Buttars Loses Committee Appointments – But For the Wrong Reasons

Blatant displays of hatred are often met with swift denunciation. Those who do hold animus against the target are disgusted by attitudes, and those who share the dislike are embarrassed by the exposure of the ugly attitudes underlying their behavior.

This was on display in Utah today where Sen. Chris Buttars was punished for the homophobic rants that the media has been exposing over the past few days. (SL Trib)

..the decision was made to remove Buttars from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he now chairs. By virtue of his position on that panel, Buttars also served on and led the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee, and will lose his spot on that panel as well.

Waddoups said the Judiciary Committee is the panel that has typically heard bills relating to gay and lesbian issues, and, by taking him off the position, he hopes to remove some of the personalities from the debate.

However, the Mormon Republican leadership wanted to be clear that while they were embarrassed by Buttars’ word selection, they don’t disagree with his anti-gay positions.

“I want the citizens of Utah to know that the Utah Senate stands behind Senator Buttars right to speak, we stand behind him as one of our colleagues and his right to serve this state,” said Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville. “He is a senator who represents the point of view of many of his constituents and many of ours. We agree with many of the things he said. . . . We stand four square behind his right [to say what he wants].”

And the Mormon Church also objected to the language but not the homophobia:

“From the outset, the Church’s position has always been to engage in civil and respectful dialogue on this issue. Senator Buttars does not speak for the Church.”

The Mormons and the Republicans were sure upset that the tape of Buttars was released. But it wasn’t because they find the attitude behind his anti-gay rants to be offensive. They just didn’t like how Buttars’ raw hatred reflected on them.

There was no indication that the leadership of the Mormon Church or the Republican delegation have anything but complete agreement that gays are mean buggers, without morals, looking for superiority, similar to Islamic terrorists, and the greatest threat to America. Which makes me wonder, just what could Buttars have possibly said in his most irrational and ranting moment that would have caused them to say, “I disagree”?

There is no question that though Sen. Chris Buttars doesn’t know me, he hates me. Today Senate President Michael Waddoups let me know that he does as well.

Utah Legislators Show Blatant Contempt for LGBT People

If you want to know the inhumanity of Utah legislators, just look here:

Probably the most frustrating part for the bill’s supporters is that HB160 obviously was dead before the House Judiciary Committee convened. Nevertheless, citizens, gay and straight, went through the motions—testifying the state needs a simple way to protect the rights of cohabiting adults in inheritance and medical decision making….

…Rep. Keith Grover, R-Orem, idly surfed the Web on his laptop as unmarried couples told of their fears that they would not be able to care medically, financially and emotionally for “the person who matters to me most.”

The bill’s sponsor Rep. Jennifer Seelig, later said she was disappointed with the committee’s lethargy. She was offended that her efforts were characterized by the right-wing Sutherland Institute as “mendacious.”

That’s right. Simply allowing gay people to designate a partner to make medical decisions and visit them in the hospital is “given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth.” It’s hard to imagine human beings — especially those who claim to be Christians — holding other human beings with such utter contempt.

But that’s the way things roll in Utah. And the LDS church likes it that way. We now have firm, incontrovertable evidence that when Utah legislators and the LDS leadership claim that they don’t hate gay people, they are boldfaced liars. We saw it right there in that committee room. They couldn’t even muster the decency, or that famed Mormon politeness, to pretend otherwise.

LaBarbera Award: Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars

This is what LGBT people in Utah and in the Mormon church are up against. Utah State Senator Chris Buttars has joined Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern in citing gays as the greatest threat to America, in a comment he made in an upcoming documentary about Proposition 8. In late January,

Buttars sat for an interview with documentary maker and former ABC4 (KTVX, Salt Lake City) reporter Reed Cowan, in which he cited gays as possibly the greatest threat to America, and compares LGBT leaders to radical Muslims:

Homosexuality will always be a sexual perversion. And you say that around here now and everybody goes nuts. But I don’t care.”

…”They’re mean. They want to talk about being nice. They’re the meanest buggers I have ever seen.”

And just seconds later, Buttars draws a comparison between some gays and radical Muslims. “It’s just like the Muslims. Muslims are good people and their religion is anti-war. But it’s been taken over by the radical side.”

…Buttars: “What is the morals of a gay person? You can’t answer that because anything goes.”

And finally, this is how senator Buttars refers to the “radical gay movement.” “They’re probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of.”

Butters also claimed credit for killing every gay rights bill in the state legislature for the past 8 years.

Just one year ago, Buttars became the center of controversy when, during a debate over an education bill, he said, “This baby is black…this is a dark, ugly thing.” That drew condemnation from the NAACP. In this interview, he wasn’t much better, saying “the ACLU — bless their black hearts…”

Buttars was the director of the Utah Boys Ranch, (now West Ridge Academy), a Mormon reeducation camp located in West  Jordan, Utah, for fifteen years before retiring in 2005. Described by critics and former staff members as a Mormon Gulag, the LDS-affiliated camp has come under charges of sanctioning and promoting abuse among its inmates — err, clients:

Upon arrival, children are changed out of their regular clothes and into either a wool blanket – to be worn like a dress, with a rope leash to be tied around the waste – and t-shirt, or a t-shirt and Army pants. They are then delivered to what is called the “work crew” which, interestingly enough, is entirely missing from the Gulag’s marketing material and program description.

On Work Crew, despite the name, a lot of the time is spent standing completely still, facing a wall. Talking of any kind is certainly out of the question, as is moving – including scratching your nose – without permission. When children aren’t being forced to stand with their noses against a wall, they are often led around the facility – those donning Army surplus store wool blankets are led by their rope leashes – to do inane, demeaning types of labor. For example, gathering hundreds of rocks and boulders in a pile – just to move the pile to another location immediately after. Or digging ditches, and filling them back in, with plastic spoons.

Once a child is released from work crew – which could be weeks or months – they are given a pair of blue jeans to go with their green t-shirt. As a “green shirt” there is a considerable amount of time that is no longer spent facing the wall, but there is still no talking whatsoever. In order to earn the privilege of monitored verbal communication a child must carefully read the first book of the Mormon scriptures – First Nephi – and prove they have done so by “passing it off” to one of the Mormon missionaries on staff.

The child must also confess their sins to a Mormon Bishop in a “bishop’s interview” before changing into a “blue shirt” – which is as good as it gets in the Gulag. Green shirts are not allowed to sit on furniture or read anything besides Mormon canon.

Among specific allegations:

Chris Buttars ordered two large men to violently rip my clothes off, shave my head bald and made me walk around naked (my underwear was torn in struggle) with nothing but an army blanket for 2 weeks. My room mates whom I was locked in with were there for sexually molesting their younger brothers. I was 13 and I never recovered from my experiences there.

It was much worse than that but I can’t stand to describe it. I’d give anything to ask him ‘why?’

He allowed mentally ill children to grow up without any psychological treatment (mental illness in the boys ranch was defined as “the crazy act for attention”) He also turned a blind eye to prison justice against these kids in his boys ranch.

Update: We have the entire transcript of Buttars’ award-winning remarks here.

Unacceptable to Mormon Eyes

Update: This post has been updated to include a clean, legible version of the full page ad.

Today the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News ran full page ads by an anti-gay activist group called America Forever. This is the same group that was wearing “Homosexuality is Anti-Species” t-shirts last week.

The ads are being called “hateful” by both friends who find them disgusting and foes who fear they may reflect badly on their own more socially acceptable brand of anti-gay behaviors and attitudes.

Gay-rights opponent Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, agrees with America Forever’s stance on upholding “traditional marriage” but condemns the group’s tactics and rhetoric, including the ad.

“There’s no need to have hateful discourse,” Wimmer said. “Quite frankly, they make those of us who are on the side of traditional marriage — they make a lot of us — look bad.”

Yes, Wimmer, mirrors can be disconcerting.

But what I find more interesting than the bile splattered accross newspapers in Utah is what was not included in the Deseret News, a newspaper owned by the Mormon Church.

The Deseret News recognizes that their readership has a set of values and they established publishing guidelines so as not offend their sensibilities. Therefore, the Mormon paper had a slightly different version of the ad.

First, let’s see what was completely acceptable for Mormon eyes:

For example: by holding hands and kissing in the public area of: an apartment complex playground, in a family neighborhood, at a party, or to present one’s self as a homosexual person in the workplace, is stating and displaying that he or she practices sodomy, and backed by law, will force the acceptance of homosexuality as a relationship equal to a man and woman relationship.

and

If a hooker displays her conduct, a druggie displays his conduct and a homosexual displays his conduct, it is our right to not have them part of our lives: in our businesses, living in our basements, barbecuing in our yards, or in common living areas.

and

Gays should be forced not to display their sexual conduct to our children as role models in school as school teachers and principals, in our streets, shopping centers, and in our lives.

All of the above passes the test of acceptable text for Mormon eyes. However, not all things are allowed in Deseret News.

MediaOne made the decision to run both ads — and removed a photo of two gay men kissing from the LDS Church-owned News version — Low said, consistent with publishing guidelines from both papers.

Yep, undeniable hate speech that seeks to coerce one’s gay neighbors and remove their constitutional rights is perfectly acceptable. But a picture of two men kissing is forbidden – even when in an anti-gay ad.

Calling Mormon’s Bluff

Last week, a Utah Senate committee killed a bill allowing individuals who rely on a breadwinner to sue for wrongful death. The vote to kill the measure was on a strict LDS-membership vote. Equality Utah isn’t taking that set back lying down.

Over the weekend EQ UT began a billboard, radio and newspaper ad campaign reminding Utah legislators of the LDS statement that there is “common ground” on some rights for same-sex couples short of marriage. The newspaper ads appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret New. Equality Utah’s Common Ground initiative seized on the LDS statement and proposed five specific bills for the Utah legislature’s consideration:

1. Domestic partnership benefits for state employees
2. Fair housing and employment provisions
3. Right to sue for wrongful deaths — the bill that was defeated last week
4. Domestic partner registry with attached rights of inheritance, insurance, and fair housing
5. a popular vote to modify Amendment 3, which bans same sex marriage and civil unions. Voters would be asked to modify the amendment to allow civil unions.