A virulent same-sex marriage group, eager to demonize any who oppose them, have recently run ads on newspaper Websites in three Eastern states with the headline, “The Mormons are coming! The Mormons are coming”. According to the Washington Post “The ad was rejected by sites in three other states, including Maine, where the Kennebec Journal informed Californians Against Hate that the copy ‘borders on insulting and denigrating a whole set of people based on their religion.'

Even before the California Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8, radical militants in the gay community were fear-mongering to states considering the same-sex marriage issue that (are you ready for this?) …

Beginning with a sophomoric doggerel takeoff on “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” a web-based advertising campaign was launched in a few target states to inoculate voters against any Mormon participation in electoral or legislative processes. Following agitprop (agitation-propaganda) ploys developed by the Soviets, the group calling itself Californians Against Hate is hyping fears that stealthy busloads of Mormons will soon be arriving at a neighborhood near you.

Germans have a droll retort to such hysteria: Ja, und?

Exactly what are voters in New England, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, DC, etc. supposed to be afraid of – that we'll show up on their porches with torches and pitchforks?

Is the homosexual community afraid that we might explain the issue, ask voters to support traditional marriage, and suggest that natural law – the source of fundamental rights – should not be twisted to justify unnatural behavior?

Oh, the ignominy of it all … I guess.

There are no such Church efforts underway, of course, and the whining apparatchiks of CAH know it. But let's imagine for the fun of it that the Mormons in Maine, for example, decided to mobilize all of their stakes – both of them. What would these mobilized minions do? Surely it wouldn't be anything so threatening as walking precincts, now would it?

Mormons knocking on doors? Whoever would have thought!

What did we do in Proposition 8 as one of the participating churches that has so spooked the other side? To hear our opponents breathlessly describe it, a religion comprising 1.7% of the California population somehow was single-handedly able to influence 52.3% of the voters to vote their way. Such was our supposed power in influencing 7,001,084 voters that voters in the other 49 states must be warned that “the Mormons are coming.” Not a bad showing for people whose bishops struggle to get them to do home teaching.

In reality, what was the order of battle in Prop 8? Who was the David and who was the Goliath? The facts reveal that the “No on 8” side enjoyed …

• At least a $4 million dollar spending advantage;

• The editorial support of 75 of the 78 daily newspapers in the state and every major TV station;

• Sympathetic journalistic bias in the choice of media stories and treatment of subjects;

• Strong majority support in both the State Senate and Assembly;

• Active support from both U.S. Senators;

• Support of a majority of U.S. Congressmen from California;

• The support of most state constitutional officers;

• The support of the state attorney general who, after it was over, presented convoluted theories to justify same-sex marriage instead of defending the people's vote, as is his constitutional duty; and

• Endorsements from the vast majority of celebrities and recognizable names in California society.

And somehow we Mormons are now the ones that everyone has to watch out for? Whining is so becoming.

It reminds me of the old Bill Cosby routine:

But a funny thing happened on the way to the same-sex marriage celebration. The voters got in the way. Yep, the forgotten voters decided to buck the self-anointed betters – the bright, beautiful, pay-attention-to-me people in the great and spacious building. This time, Cap'n Custer won.

What happens now?

For the homosexual community to win, they must frame themselves as loving victims oppressed by hateful bigots. They must demonize their opponents and they've chosen us for the honor. Why? Because of all the religions in the coalition to pass Prop 8, we are the smallest, the least likely to fight back, the easiest to demonize, and have iconic buildings to demonstrate in front of. They surely won't attack the numerous Catholics, and in front of what building would you march if you wanted to demonstrate against evangelicals?

Might it also be that they suspect we have help from elsewhere?

Personally, I hope militant gays (yes, there are factions in that political bloc) continue to agitate that Mormons are on their way. Perhaps some who hear that chicken-little warning might wonder what it's all about and ask a few questions of our members and missionaries.

Especially if we leave our torches and pitchforks at home.