Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Marriage Supporters Protest at Mormon LA Temple
“You Have Two Wives—I Want One Husband”

From a story in the LA Times
November 6, 2008

Protesters gathered today outside the temple of the Mormon Church on Santa Monica Boulevard in Westwood to protest Tuesday's passage of Proposition 8, the initiative that bans same-sex marriage.

Soon after the rally got under way at 2 p.m., men and woman hoisting signs shouted down about a half-dozen men in suits from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yelling “Shame on you!” and pointing at them. The men in suits and a groundskeeper stood looking at them impassively.

Police closed portions of Westwood Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard around the temple, and traffic in the area quickly became clogged.

The actual number of demonstrators is in dispute. A Los Angeles Police Department official earlier estimated the crowd to be about 3,000. But another LAPD spokesman later placed the estimate at 500 to 1,000.

Standing on the sidewalk on Santa Monica Boulevard, Les Perkins, 57, of Glendale, was holding a sign with a picture of himself and his partner, Bruce, that said: “Why is this joy and love so scary?”

Sean Hetherington, a 30-year-old personal trainer, was with boyfriend Aaron Hartzler, 33, as the crowd moved up Selby Avenue past the temple. Hetherington was carrying a sign saying, “YOU HAVE TWO WIVES I WANT ONE HUSBAND.” He said they were there to remind President-elect Obama of his commitment to gay people and other minorities. He wants federal recognition of gay rights and the right to marry.

Hartzler said he believes Prop. 8 supporters lied to scare and confuse people by suggesting that if the proposition failed, gay marriage would be taught in schools.

Hetherington was angry at Prop. 8 supporters: “they are using gay Americans as a wedge issue and we don’t accept that.”

Emotions occasionally ran raw.

A woman who supported the proposition faced off with an opponent, apparently calling him names.

When she walked away, another man chased after her, yelling “Hater, hater.”

The woman, by then talking on a cellphone, burst into tears.

A bystander who opposed the proposition watched and said, “The only way we're going to prove that loving is equal is to love.”