Last night, I mentioned Equality Utah's strategy of taking Mormon protestations that they are not against gay equality, just against the cooptation of the word "marriage." What the gay rights groups in Utah have essentially said is: okay, we believe you. So let's enact laws that really will provide fairness for gay couples while leaving your etymology in place. Among the pro-gay propositions that do not violate Mormon theology on the word "marriage": an employment non-discrimination law and an adoption law. And guess what? Despite support from the Republican governor, the measures have all failed - opposed by often explicitly religious arguments from Mormons. Of five pro-gay proposals under the "Common Ground" initiative, four have died.
Why has this "paid dividends"? Because it has helped isolate pro-civil union conservatives, like Jon Huntsman Jr, from the Christianists. And because it has exposed the untruth that opponents of marriage equality are not anti-gay, just pro-marriage. Next up today: a bill "to expand protections for same-sex couples so they can visit a partner in the hospital, inherit property and make medical decisions."
No Mormon would oppose that, would they?