LAT revisits Proposition 8

In an editorial today, the LAT charges that pro-8 forces are responsible for starting the nasty get-even tactics and intimidation that have characterized the post-election reaction to the passage of Proposition 8. According to the LAT, before the election the Yes-on-8 campaign sent letters to some California businesses saying that if the businesses contributed to the No-on-8 campaign they would need to make an equal contribution to the Yes-on-8 campaign or "risk being publicly outed as opponents of 'traditional marriage' (the implication being that they would then face a boycott)."

The LAT says boycotting is a "time-honored method of expressing opinions and pushing for social or political change," but suggests that the Yes-on-8 campaign's letter-writing was either uglier than the tactics used by the other side or came earlier and therefore justified the ugly post-election negative reaction to Prop. 8.

The LAT editors must not have watched the demonstrations much on TV. People have been threatened and perhaps injured by anti-8 demonstrators, streets and intersections have been shut down, demonstrators have blocked access to Mormon temples and churches. Anti-8 forces have mailed white powder to church officials; not letters to businesses. The LAT doesn't mention the violence but does acknowledge that some people have lost their jobs because they contributed to the Yes-on-8 campaign.

In the end, the LAT rightly argues that citizens ought to be able to vote and contribute without fear of intimidation. If only the editors were a little more evenhanded and objective in their view of Prop. 8 reactions.