tinyurl.com/68g36c -> www.americablog.com/2008/11/complaint-failed-against-mormon-church.html
November 13, 2008 Chairman Ross Johnson Fair Political Practices Commission 428 J Street, Suite 800 Sacramento, CA 95814 Attorney General Edmund G Brown, Jr. com - Yes on 8, A Project of California Renewal ID # 1302592. All of these unreported contributions by the Mormon Church were on top of its massive fund-raising effort; the largest ever undertaken on a social issue ballot initiative. Under California Election Law organizations such as the Mormon Church are not required to report activities if they strictly constitute "member communication." We will explain why we feel that the activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went far beyond "member communication," and were instead specifically targeted at California's 17 million voters. By not reporting any of these non monetary contributions, the Mormon Church violated the Political Reform Act. Were no other Church officials traveling to California for such an important campaign? The Mormon Church made the Yes on Prop 8 campaign a national priority beginning on June 20, 2008 when Church President David S Monson sent his now famous letter to be read in every church building, where he said, "We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment (Prop 8) by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman." org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/california-and-s ame-sex-marriage This was their call to action, and was undoubtedly designed to get members to begin the outreach to nonmembers. Two other organizations that were also involved in the Yes on Prop 8 campaign, reported substantial non monetary contributions. The National Organization for Marriage of Princeton, New Jersey reported 49 separate non monetary contributions between 02/01/08 and 4/16/08 totaling $210,634,75. Phone Banks On October 8, 2008 the Associated Press reported that "Mormons Recruit Out-of-State for Gay Marriage Ban. Mormons living outside California have been asked to volunteer for a telephone campaign to help pass a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in the state." The Mormon Church announced one week before the November 4, 2008 election that it was canceling its phone centers in Utah established to call California voters. How many calls were made to California voters from these massive call centers? News reports said that students at BYU - Idaho in Rexford, Idaho were using a call center in that town every Thursday evening to call voters in California. This type of interstate phone network requires a lot of setup, supervision, voter sheets, scripts, training and the price of the calls. Phone centers in place to contact nonmembers would constitute a contribution. CompanyID=5596957 6&cs=QHDVgcoxQ was based in Orange County, California. Lawrence's mission was to direct all Mormon activities in California (attached). html Gary Lawrence's operation had a timeline beginning on August 16, 2008 though election day of 12 Saturday precinct walks. All walkers were to be Mormons leading up to the election day surge of 100,000 Mormon volunteers and they went door-to-door to canvass nonmember voters. Was the Church actively involved in this massive recruitment? pdf This directive from Church Elders Ballard, Christopheron & Clayton detail Church plans for yard signs, schedule, volunteers, out of state calling teams, speakers bureau and voter registration. html Did the Church participate financially in this massive voter outreach? If so, all of these voter communication activities to nonmembers constitute a contribution. Saturday Rallies These took place throughout California on the 3 Saturdays prior to the election. Thousands of yellow T-shirt clad Yes on 8 supporters were lined up for miles with signs in targeted areas of the state yelling, chanting and screaming at passing motorists. There were reports that these demonstrators were mostly Mormons, and that many were bussed in from Utah and surrounding states. We have heard that some of the busses had out of state license plates. Who paid for the buses, travel costs, meals and other expenses of all the Mormon participants? Satellite Broadcasts It appears that the first satellite simulcast was on October 8, 2008 and was beamed to 5 Western states. Apostle Robert D Hales led this broadcast on various aspects of the campaign, including how to deal with the issues and how to conduct yourself. html Another satellite broadcast took place at a later date, and was led by Church Elders M Russell Ballard, Quentin L Cook and L Whitney Clayton. It addressed the Church's doctrine of marriage and participation in the Protect Marriage Coalition. Then the Newsroom of the Mormon Church issued a Press Release (attached) about this broadcast making it available to California voters and anyone with internet access. This video was not password protected and was promoted by the Church and available to nonmembers. org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/same-sex-marriag e-and-proposition-8 Satellite broadcasts to hundreds of locations are very expensive, and by making it available to nonmembers, it is a contribution. Multimedia Program The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appeared to have done a tremendous amount of work in this area. org/ was developed specifically for the Yes on Prop 8 campaign. The title is "Preserving the Divine Institution of Marriage." This web site states that it is "An Official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" c 2008 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. com is primarily a showcase for 9 separate Yes on Prop 8 commercials that are very professionally produced. They feature mostly young people talking about why same-sex marriage is wrong. There is an email update request box, and another to send feedback. The viewer is encouraged to share this site and "spread the word." Site visits are not limited to just Mormons, and everyone is "invited to share these videos with others." There is even a very prominent "Vote Yes on Prop 8, Support Traditional Marriage" banner on the home page. Certainly this web site was put in place to reach California voters. All of these commercials as well as their web site were clearly designed to communicate with the public. Church Denial On November 9, 2008 Don Eaton a spokesman for the Mormon Church was quoted on ABC - KGO Television stating, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put zero money in this (election)." com web site was sponsored by the Church, he quickly said that it was not, but was "a part of the campaign." So this year in California it appears that the Mormon Church was trying to avoid any direct contributions to Yes on Prop 8, and instead raised millions from its member families. That is legal, but all the money spent to communicate with nonmembers must be reported if it exceed $100. Clearly the Mormon Church has vastly exceeded that threshold. We ask that the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Attorneys General of California and Utah immediately begin a full and thorough investigation of all campaign related activities undertaken by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah to determine if there were any reporting violations. Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this very important matter.
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