Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Mormons in Illinois Asked to Fight against Civil Unions
The Message Was Sent to Members in Nauvoo

Lisa Hansen
March 2009

Despite the recent claim by LDS leaders that they do not have anything against civil unions, some Mormons in Illinois received a directive to oppose a bill that would legalize civil unions.

In a message approved by Chris Church, bishop of the Nauvoo Third Ward, Kristy Combs predicts that if the civil union bill passes Illinois may soon allow “confused men and women (sic) legally entering one another's bathrooms and locker rooms.”

“Civil unions will be different in name only from marriage,” writes Combs. “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.”

Hugo Salinas of Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons says that the message uses scare tactics and confuses sexual orientation with gender identity.

“How ironic that this message was sent to Mormons in Nauvoo—the city where Mormon founder Joseph Smith once married some 30 wives,” says Salinas. “If Combs is worried about the ‘rewriting [of] all social mores,’ perhaps she could start by studying what the Mormons once did in her city.”

On March 4, when the text of the original email was leaked to the media, Bishop Chris Church sent a one-sentence email to the recipients of the original message.

“Members of the Church may take any action they wish concerning legislation,” the new message says, “but the Church does not take any position in relation to these issues.”

Text of the Original Email

From: Kristy Combs
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 Combs