Steve Young's family up against Mormon church on Prop. 8

[Dirtbag59]

- Kudos to Steve Young for taking a stand especially given the fact that he's a prominent figure in Morman culture (Great Great Grandson of Mormon figurehead Brigham Young).

sfgate: The signs on the front lawn of former 49er quarterback Steve Young's Peninsula home say "No on Prop. 8," which normally wouldn't be much of a story in the Bay Area, a gay-friendly region which is the center of opposition to the effort to ban same-sex marriage in the state.

But Young isn't only a Hall of Fame quarterback. He's also the great-great-great grandson of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon church. The church has pushed hard and publicly for Prop. 8 and Mormons have pumped millions into the campaign.

Young also isn't just any church member. During his years in the NFL, he was one of the nation's most visible Mormons. He graduated from BYU, which was named for his ancestor, and received his law degree there. In a 1996 "60 Minute" interview, he said that he still had plans to go on the church mission he missed in college and had no problem tithing 10 percent of his earnings to the church. He retains close ties to Utah, married his wife, Barbara, at a temple in Hawaii and even served as narrator for a short video on the Mormon church and its history, done for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.

Given all that, it's surprising to see Young's family lining up on the opposite side of the church, especially after Mormon leaders in Salt Lake City sent a letter last June that asked all California church members to do all they could to support the Prop. 8 effort by "donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman."

While it's Barb Young's name that appears on the checks, she made it clear in a statement issued today through Equality California that the contributions are a family affair.

Later, she clarified her remarks with this update: "To expand on my earlier email, I am very passionate about this issue and Steve is completely supportive of me and my work for equality. We both love our Church and are grateful that our Church encourages us to vote our conscience. Steve prefers not to get involved politically on any issue no matter what the cause and therefore makes no endorsement."

"We believe ALL families matter and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop. 8," she said.
sfgate: The signs on the front lawn of former 49er quarterback Steve Young's Peninsula home say "No on Prop. 8," which normally wouldn't be much of a story in the Bay Area, a gay-friendly region which is the center of opposition to the effort to ban same-sex marriage in the state.

But Young isn't only a Hall of Fame quarterback. He's also the great-great-great grandson of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon church. The church has pushed hard and publicly for Prop. 8 and Mormons have pumped millions into the campaign.

Young also isn't just any church member. During his years in the NFL, he was one of the nation's most visible Mormons. He graduated from BYU, which was named for his ancestor, and received his law degree there. In a 1996 "60 Minute" interview, he said that he still had plans to go on the church mission he missed in college and had no problem tithing 10 percent of his earnings to the church. He retains close ties to Utah, married his wife, Barbara, at a temple in Hawaii and even served as narrator for a short video on the Mormon church and its history, done for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.

Given all that, it's surprising to see Young's family lining up on the opposite side of the church, especially after Mormon leaders in Salt Lake City sent a letter last June that asked all California church members to do all they could to support the Prop. 8 effort by "donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman."

While it's Barb Young's name that appears on the checks, she made it clear in a statement issued today through Equality California that the contributions are a family affair.

Later, she clarified her remarks with this update: "To expand on my earlier email, I am very passionate about this issue and Steve is completely supportive of me and my work for equality. We both love our Church and are grateful that our Church encourages us to vote our conscience. Steve prefers not to get involved politically on any issue no matter what the cause and therefore makes no endorsement."

"We believe ALL families matter and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop. 8," she said.

[dmek25]

not that his opinion carries any more weight then anyone else. but it is very interesting that he voices his "own" opinion

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by dmek25

not that his opinion carries any more weight then anyone else. but it is very interesting that he voices his "own" opinion

I will say that it's a little ironic that while he is a member of the Mormon church he still played in San Francisco so his ties to the community and experience there might play a role in his understanding and empathy towards this issue. Still Young didn't need to come out and take a stand on this. There are numerous athletes out there and I have no idea as to what they believe politically. So the fact that he took a stand especially given his bloodlines and such is very impressive and admirable at least thats what I think.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

I will say that it's a little ironic that while he is a member of the Mormon church he still played in San Francisco so his ties to the community and experience there might play a role in his understanding and empathy towards this issue. Still Young didn't need to come out and take a stand on this. There are numerous athletes out there and I have no idea as to what they believe politically. So the fact that he took a stand especially given his bloodlines and such is very impressive and admirable at least thats what I think.

Well in honesty its his wifes cause that is pushing this and he said he stands by her. I bet if he was still single those signs would not be in his yard.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Well in honesty its his wifes cause that is pushing this and he said he stands by her.

Dude this is Steve Young we're talking about. If his wife was trying to pin him down to say something he could just scramble his way out of it and find Jerry Rice downfield

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

Dude this is Steve Young we're talking about. If his wife was trying to pin him down to say something he could just scramble his way out of it and find Jerry Rice downfield

He lost a few steps,.

[MTK]

Religious zealots hard at work on real important issues. Good to see millions of dollars being spent on crap like this.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Religious zealots hard at work on real important issues. Good to see millions of dollars being spent on crap like this.

Did you ever catch Religulous? There's a great portion of that movie spent on the Mormon church.

[EternalEnigma21]

gay people should be able to be as miserable as the rest of us. (don't remember where I heard that but its true)

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by EternalEnigma21

gay people should be able to be as miserable as the rest of us. (don't remember where I heard that but its true)

LOL! Yeah maybe they won't be gay (happy) anymore if they got married.

Seriously does it realy matter who is f--ing who, it should only matter who you are f--ing.

[djnemo65]

Good for Steve Young for doing the right thing. I heard David Frum (the axis of evil guy, who is actually really impressive) talking about this issue recently; he said that all you have to do is look at polling data for people under 40 to see where we are headed in this country with respect to this issue.

I think with an economy in crisis people are really tuning into the inanity of these divisive social issues, which have been at the center of our presidential elections for the past 40 years. They aren't working this time and that's a very very good thing.

[Duffman003]

what are the reasons that the government doesn't want the legalize gay marriage? I Understand it's not allowed according to the bible, but there's supposed to be a separation of church and state. Would this have any negative effects on society?

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Duffman003

what are the reasons that the government doesn't want the legalize gay marriage? I Understand it's not allowed according to the bible, but there's supposed to be a separation of church and state. Would this have any negative effects on society?

The real crazies among the religous believe that allowing gay marriage will not only create more gays (which isn't bad to us but to the crazies it's a whole nother story) but it will bring America closer to being a Godless nation and in turn will help bring the wrath of God upon America. I don't know what the wrath is but from what I understand this could be anything from another 9/11 to the rapture itself.

Plus most people are freaked out by gays, myself included, well only the lispy feminine types that just seem to be trying way to hard, but I will admit it is still kind of surprising when I see gay people in real life mainly because I rarely see it. Still taking away rights from people because you think the Bible gives you the right to is just plain unfair and probably part of the reason you have lower church attendence and others willing to pay higher taxes instead of electing a party thats more likely to try and construct policies that take away or prevent civil rights.

I guess I relate to the gays in a sense that I know what it's like to keep a secret and be in the closet as I'm an atheist/agnostic myself that still hasn't "come out" to my parents and I know when I get a job I'm probably going to keep it a secret especially since I'll probably still be living in the Bible Belt. I've even tried to tell my parents but it ended with me being a believer in Jesus who doesn't like the Bible.

I mean I've told my friends and I've told you guys (some of which I am inclined to consider friends) but even then you get the crazier of your friends trying to debate you, which is actually kind of fun, but sometimes they shut down and act weird which gets on my nerves. It actually got to a point where a good friend of mine took me to a play called "Final Destination" in which a wife beater/accidental murder went to heaven for accepting Jesus while normal people were sent to hell for not truly accepting Jesus. He also freaked out when I had him over to dinner at my families house and saw me saying grace with my family.

I'm not even against religion, what I am against is the fractions that brainwash their followers and force them to focus on dogma and worship instead of the actual teachings that apply to teaching people how to be kind and humble. I mean it's like your a good person based on the fact that you believe in Jesus instead of earning it by being a good person that respects and helps other people. I guess it's one of my favorite jokes as when my friends make fun of me for my godless beliefs I agree and joke about how I can't go a minute without thinking about killing someone or steeling a car as the only reason people don't do these things is because they think God won't approve of it and punish them and when you don't believe in God you're automatically inclined to commit horrible sins.

Anyway sorry for the rant. To answer the original question people are scared of not only what they don't understand but also of those that break rules assigned by authority figures (which in this case would be corrupt preachers and the like).

Originally Posted by EternalEnigma21

gay people should be able to be as miserable as the rest of us. (don't remember where I heard that but its true)

Actually theres the joke where gay people are against gay marriage because with straight couples that get serious it ends up with one of the two pondering marriage. If you're gay you just have to say "Oh sorry honey I'd love to but it's illegal." If you're straight its like "we have to break up."

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Duffman003

what are the reasons that the government doesn't want the legalize gay marriage? I Understand it's not allowed according to the bible, but there's supposed to be a separation of church and state. Would this have any negative effects on society?

Well gays can get married anytime they want in a church. What they want is for it to be recongnized by the state. They then qualify for married benfitts and such but other than that I'm not sure of all the issues.

[GusFrerotte]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Good for Steve Young for doing the right thing. I heard David Frum (the axis of evil guy, who is actually really impressive) talking about this issue recently; he said that all you have to do is look at polling data for people under 40 to see where we are headed in this country with respect to this issue.

I think with an economy in crisis people are really tuning into the inanity of these divisive social issues, which have been at the center of our presidential elections for the past 40 years. They aren't working this time and that's a very very good thing.

I agree to some extent, but social issues matter. Why do I say that? Simple, because the breakdown of social mores, etc has helped contribute to the economic crisis that we are facing. What is the major factor in our impending economic collapse? Greed and the lust for power. On top of that, folks want something for nothing. There is nothing outside of chasing the almighty buck anymore. Outside of this people don't really believe in anything. Nihlism is the order of the day, absolutely no morality at all. Gambling, drug and alcohol abuse, etc all have negative consequences on society as a whole.