Dec 05, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

Editors’ note: This is the first of a two-part series looking at the role of the Mormon church in Prop 8’s passage.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) is investigating the possibility that the Mormon church violated state law by failing to report all contributions supporting a measure that banned same-sex marriage in the Golden State.

Commission officials announced Nov. 24 they would take up the investigation against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Californians Against Hate, a group that has sought to draw attention to those who donated money in support of Proposition 8 filed its complaint with the commission Nov. 13.

California voters approved Proposition 8 on Election Day, prohibiting same-sex marriage in a state where the Supreme Court ruled gay couples had a right to marry. The measure blocks future same-sex marriages in California and puts the marriages of 18,000 gay couples that already wed in legal limbo.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, said he filed the complaint after he noticed the Mormon church reported only $2,684 in non-monetary contributions in the fight over Prop 8.

He said he expected reported contributions to be around several hundred thousand dollars because of the church’s efforts in making commercials, staffing phone banks and walking precincts.

“I’ve been in the political business for more than 30 years,” Karger said. “I know what commercials cost. I know what web sites cost. They’re very expensive.”

Opponents of Prop 8 have estimated that the Mormon church and its members funneled around $20 million in support of the same-sex marriage ban, or about 70 percent of all funds for the “Yes on 8” campaign.

Karger said the church is allowed to encourage support for Prop 8 among its members without reporting it as contributions, but must report all Prop 8-related communications to non-church members.

Kim Farah, spokesperson for the Mormon church, said in a statement provided to the Blade on Monday that the church “will be sending information to the FPPC” and believes that “any investigation will confirm the church’s compliance with applicable law.”

FPPC spokesperson Roman Porter said if the commission finds that the Mormon church violated campaign finance laws, it could face administrative fines of up to $5,000 per violation. He added that in some instances, the commission can file a civil lawsuit and seek up to three times the unreported or misreported contributions.

Porter said he could neither provide status updates on investigations nor say when the investigation would be resolved.

The investigation has drawn national attention. On Saturday, the New York Times editorial board came out in favor of the investigation and noted that “based on the facts that have come out so far, the state is right to look into whether the church broke state laws.”

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and an executive committee member of the “No on 8” campaign, said the FPPC should investigate “any credible complaint,” but added that she was skeptical about whether the church violated any campaign finance laws.

“Given the stable of very smart lawyers working for the church, I think it is highly unlikely that they did anything in violation of the law,” she said.

But Karger said the Mormon church is constantly changing its story on why it only reported a small amount of contributions. He noted that the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that the Mormon church said it doesn’t need to report contributions that were made by members and not the church.

“If that’s the case … I think there’s going to be some serious problems, assuming they cooperate with the investigation,” he said.

Temples targeted in nationwide protests

Filing a complaint against the Mormon church for possibly underreporting its contributions is not the only way that supporters of same-sex marriage have retaliated against the institution for its support of Prop 8.

Mormon temples have been the rallying point for many protests that followed the passage of the same-sex marriage ban.

On Nov. 6, more than 1,000 protesters gathered in Westwood, Calif., near the Los Angeles Mormon temple to protest the passage of the measure. The next day, more than 3,000 protesters marched past the Mormon temple and church headquarters in Salt Lake City, and on Nov. 12, around 10,000 protesters gathered in front of the Mormon temple in New York City.

While the majority of the protesters have been law abiding, temples have also reported incidents of violence.

The Sacramento Bee reported on Nov. 9 that vandals had spray-painted “No on 8” on Mormon church property in Orangevale, Calif. And the Salt Lake City branch of the ...