False Claims on Proposition 8 and the Church's Contributions
From FAIR, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
Criticism: Opponents claim the Church improperly contributed to the success of the campaign to support California Prop 8. First, opponents criticize the Church for donating money directly to the “yes on 8” campaign. This claim is false. Records filed with the State of California indicate that the Church did not make any contributions with the exception of an "in kind" contribution (non monetary) for travel expenses for a single general authority. All other LDS-related money was contributed by Church members individually, not by the Church. Secondly, critics claim that members of the Church outside of California contributed to the “yes on 8" campaign, and this involvement of people outside of California was improper.
The following chart shows the amounts of money contributed by both in-state and out-of-state individuals and groups to each side.
For Proposition 8
$25,388,955 In-State Donations
$10,733,582 Out-of-State Donations
$36,122,538 Total Donations
Against Proposition 8
$26,464,589 In-State Donations
$11,968,285 Out-of-State Donations
$38,432,873 Total Donations
Totals
$51,853,544
$22,701,867
$74,555,411
Source: Tracking the money, Los Angeles Times
Note that out-of-state contributions to the "No" side were over $1.2 million higher than the out-of-state contributions to the "Yes" side. A third claim is that the Church violated its tax-exempt status by participating in the “Yes on 8" campaign. According to IRS rules, a tax-exempt organization may not support particular candidates or parties. However, the church did not participate in or intervene in any of the political campaigns for any of the candidates running in the 2008 election. The IRS does, however, permit a Church to take positions on issues.
Critics then claim that companies the Church owns violated those rules.
Companies that are owned by the Church, such as Bonneville Communications, are in business to make a profit. These businesses pay their taxes just like any other business: They are not part of the tax-exempt portion of the Church. They have the same opportunities and rights to act in this manner as any other tax paying entities in our country.
Another claim is that contributions by Church members were unfairly considered tax deductible. This is patently false. California members who chose to donate to the Prop 8 campaign were explicitly told that their donations would not be tax deductible. None of the funds donated to the campaign are allowed as deductions. Critics claim that members were told by the Church how much to contribute. Church headquarters did not pass down individual contribution goals to members. In some cases local Church leaders may have asked members to contribute a specific amount. Some goals were suggested to the general membership by their Stake President, such as “one dollar per day.” Some Stakes provided wards with goals that they were expected to meet. Humanitarian efforts Critics have been making the claim that the Church invested more money in Proposition 8 than in all of its combined humanitarian efforts. The question is not relevant, since the Church as an organization did not donate any money to “Yes on 8.” The Church does, however, fund a significant humanitarian effort through member donations. The amount contributed by the Church to humanitarian causes far outweighs anything that individual members contributed toward the effort to pass Prop 8. Critics do not seem as concerned about the money that could have been donated to humanitarian causes that was donated to the “No on 8" campaign instead. Conclusion
The Church did not donate any funds to support Proposition 8. That members exercised their consciences to donate funds or to participate in voluntary activities to express their views is in the best traditional of citizenship.
There are many other issues which draw critical attention. The full FAIR wiki article may be accessed by clicking here.
I guess that made MLK, Jr. and Gandhi a couple of ingrates, not to mention the American Founding Fathers. They should have just sucked it up and respected those who were really in charge!
