Attack of the Mormon Missionaries: Prop. 8 Foes Produce Religiously Bigoted Commercial

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The foes of Proposition 8 in California which would restore the definition of marriage in that state as being between one man and one woman have produced an incredibly bizarre and bigoted commercial. The video depicts a pair of Mormon missionaries invading the home of a lesbian couple and ransacking it until they find their wedding license and then tearing it up. This video displays obvious hatred towards Mormons who mostly support Prop. 8 but to Los Angeles Times blogger Karin Klein such bigotry is no big deal (emphasis mine):

The Yes on 8 campaign is doing its best to spread its outrage -- outrage!! -- over the latest ad against Proposition 8, which would amend the state constitution to take away the right of gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The ad, which debuted on YouTube and is going out on television today, is certainly the most attention-getting TV spot to criticize the proposition. Most of the ads against Proposition 8 have been extraordinarily tame, unlike the fear-mongering rumors spread by the Yes side.

Not any more. The new ad -- a skit in which two actors playing Mormon missionaries visit the home of a married lesbian couple -- is clearly intended to signal viewers that the Mormon church has been a major player in the Yes campaign. Its message is that the religious right is claiming the power to strip others of their rights, starting with marriage and heading into any other arenas the movement finds immoral.

Having viewed the ad, I can't see what the big deal is. Skits like this are common fodder for campaign ads. Were opponents of Prop. 8 supposed to never touch the religious aspect of this? Is it supposed to be unfair to play the Mormon card, considering the role Mormonism has played on the Yes side (e.g., pressing its members to donate and work for the campaign)? Surely the Mormon church and its members never expected to leap into a campaign with this much vocal and financial might, funding it in large part and pushing for it relentlessly, without expecting that they would be viewed as a force that is trying to roll back the clock on gay rights in California. And considering that the Yes on 8 campaign has tried to depict gays and lesbians as attempting to take over elementary schools and force themselves on religious weddings, it's not in a great position to claim bigotry and intolerance, let alone misleading advertising, coming from the other side.

The "missionaries" show up at the front door .... but watch and judge for yourself.

I did watch it for myself, Karin, and it definitely displayed religious bigotry towards Mormons. Apparently a lot of readers of your blog feel the same way:

Wow, the hatred and name calling coming from the Gay community is unbelievable. What happened to the concept of tolerance and love. It looks like tolerance and love only applies one way.

I had been undecided, and leaning toward voting no on 8 when I go to vote later today, but after seeing such blatant bigotry in this ad, I will be voting yes. Thanks for making this choice easier for me.

One final thought. This commecial, as the second commenter noted, will probably help Prop. 8 more than it will hurt it. One reason is the backlash against the bigotry displayed towards Mormons. The other reason is that the video is so absurd that it is actually campy. In fact I can envision Tom Servo and the other robots of Mystery Science Theater 3000 ranking on the video that they call "Attack of the Mormon Missionaries!"