Look out, Mormons. It appears that the religious sect may suffer some painful consequences for crossing the line between Church and State. Proposition 8 reportedly passed with some $20 million dollars worth of assistance from out of state Mormons. Consequently, the LGBT community may target the Sundance Film Festival and the entire state of Utah. Gays are fighting back with such intensity that the state of Utah may come to rue the day that it became home to Mormons and the Church of Latter Day Saints.
Utah's growing tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival are being targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking to punish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its aggressive promotion of California's ban on gay marriage.
It could be a heavy price to pay. Tourism brings in $6 billion a year to Utah, with world-class skiing, spectacular red-rock country and the film festival founded by Robert Redford among popular tourist draws. .
The Mormon Church, based in Salt Lake City, encouraged members to work for passage of the ballot measure. Thousands of Mormons worked as grass-roots volunteers and gave tens of millions of dollars to the campaign. .
The backlash against the church was immediate. Protests erupted outside Mormon temples, online groups formed telling people to boycott Utah -- where more than 60 percent of residents are Mormons, the church says -- and Web sites began popping up, calling for an end to the church's tax-exempt status.
Related:
Protest at Oakland Mormon Temple Sunday
Mormons Stole Our Rights
Revoke LDS Church Tax Exempt Status
Andrew Sullivan: Mormons vs Gays: [G]ay people and their families now have every right to highlight the Mormon church as an enemy of civil rights and of gay people everywhere.
Gay Rights Politics Gender News Gay Marriage California Equal Rights Mormons Utah Bigotry Homophobia
