Mesa Arizona LDS Temple Vigil

AZfamily.com write-up (with video)

3TV video report

Arizona Republic:

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in Mesa lighted its Christmas display Friday night, about 150 supporters showed up to protest.
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In Arizona, voters approved Proposition 102, which added a 20-word amendment to the state Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

The biggest donors to the Yes 4 Marriage campaign in Arizona, before the primaries, were Nancy and David LeSueur and Kathleen and Wilford Andersen, two prominent Mormon families in Mesa.

Each family donated $100,000 cash, according to campaign-finance records.
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The idea for the vigil came from Bobby Parker ...

Parker, 64, came out to his Mormon family in January 2007.

"I lost my family, lost my church," he said.

The demonstration was peaceful, with participants holding candles and signs that read "Peace" and "Acceptance." Some vehicles driving by honked in support of the demonstrators, but one person threw a dirty diaper out the window at them.

The church is surprised it is being singled out by protesters, said Don Evans, a local Mormon spokesman ...

Box Turtle Bulletin:

... when anyone chooses to insert themselves in the rough-and-tumble world of politics, they can expect to experience the political consequences and criticisms of their actions, be they a political party, James Dobson, Swift Boat Veterans, or the Mormon church.

And if any other group had gone in as deeply and as enthusiastically into this political fight as the Mormon church has, they’d be fair game for protests. We could just as easily be targeting General Motors if GM had played the role that the LDS leadership did. But GM didn’t put their reputations on the line and fight to strip people of rights that they already enjoyed. The LDS church did.
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They have given up their right to be “puzzled” and pretend that they are just another church. They’re not. They are now political activists just like the rest of us.

Welcome to our world.