The biggest supporters of ProtectMarriage.Com, the primary backer of the "Yes on Proposition 8" campaign, are not Catholics. Yes, the Knights of Columbus have donated nearly $1.5 million. But of the $22.8 million raised from July to October, about 40 percent came from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Steve Sidwell, a Modesto attorney, is a member of the Modesto stake LDS church. He and his wife, Debbie, have five adult children and seven grandchildren. They've contributed to the Yes on 8 campaign by making phone calls, putting out lawn signs and donating money.
"I strongly believe in traditional marriage. I believe it's a fundamental part of our social fabric," Sidwell said. "I've lived long enough and seen enough and read enough studies to know that kids grow up better when they have a mother influencing them and a father influencing them.
"The opposition has tried to cast this thing as a civil rights, equality issue. What I've understood throughout my law career is that equality means those similarly situated should be afforded similar benefits. I see a clear difference between a male-female as opposed to a male-male or a female-female. That's not similar.
"I got a return phone call the other day. Someone called and said I was a right-wing homophobe, which is a person who hates homosexuals or a person who fears them. I'm neither. This is not directed with animosity or venom or anything like that. This is to protect the traditional concept of marriage."
Former lesbian supports 8
Eileen is a Turlock resident who asked that her full name not be used to protect her daughter. She said she is a former lesbian who leads a support group for homosexuals who want to leave the homosexual lifestyle.
"I'm voting yes on Prop. 8," she said. "The bottom line is that marriage was created by God. The Old Testament and the New Testament both say marriage is for a man and a woman. In God's eyes, all sex outside of marriage is bad. In order for a homosexual not to be bad in the eyes of God, they have to get married. They think it's a loophole of having sex with their partner. The only way to stop it in California, unfortunately, is to make sure God's law is set in stone."
Eileen said she was in junior high when she felt "different," and instead of being attracted to boys, wanted to be one of them.
"Like all homosexuals, I thought I was born this way," she said. After years in lesbian relationships, she said studies convinced her she was wrong.
"The foundation that I stand on was a test done on identical twins. If it is genetic, if one twin is gay, they both should be. The problem was, only 52 percent of twins followed that. In the other 48 percent, one was gay and one was straight."
She said she knows her views and life won't sit well with homosexuals.
"That means that 'coming out' is possible. That means it's not genetic. I am an ex-gay. I am no longer attracted to women. I am free."
Worries about future
Father Joseph Illo of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Modesto said a diocese-wide conference call with legal staff revealed the potential loss of rights the church could face if Proposition 8 fails. Currently, the state gives clergy the power to perform state-sanctioned weddings.
"If it doesn't pass, then Catholic priests or any other pastor will be forced either to perform same-sex weddings or lose their ability to do state-recognized weddings," he said. "We could continue to do weddings, but they wouldn't be recognized by the state. Our couples would have to get married by the court first and later do a Catholic wedding. It's a limitation of our rights.
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