The July 20 letter "Americans urged to vote carefully this year" is a classic example of a leftist hit piece designed to convince people to not vote for Mitt Romney. Supposedly the letter shows that the woes of California gays are the fault of the Mormon Church, therefore Romney must be culpable.
The facts: In 2000, the people of California passed Prop 22 - 61.4 percent to 38 percent - to ban gay marriage. The California Supreme Court invalidated the results in May 2008.
Prop 8, a ban on gay marriage, passed on Nov. 7, 2008, with 79.42 percent voter turnout, 52.24 percent to 47.76 percent.
The accused Mormons had nothing to do with introducing Prop 8. They did, along with most of the major religious organizations in California, join in support. Prop 8 was started by a petition promoted by theprotectmarriage.com, a family counseling firm.
The letter implied that the right buys elections. $39.9 million and $43.3 million, for and against, respectively, were spent on Prop 8.
Prop 8 today is waiting for its day before the U.S. Supreme Court, because it was declared unconstitutional by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
So, my fellow voters, this letter has nothing to do with gay marriage and everything to do with how important it is for you to do your homework and vote carefully.
The facts quoted in this letter were readily available at www.wikipedia.com.
Bill Botts
Lahaina
