Proposition 102 -- The Marriage Amendment - more comments on the Arizona Republic

As late as the early years of the Twentieth Century, In the United States, people with Jewish surnames were often denied accommodation at the hotels and even restaurants. This early form of racial profiling caused many Jewish immigrants to "Americanize" their names.

See for example http://www.aish.com/societyWork/work/The_Jewish_Ethicist_Racial_Profiling_I.asp

As recently as 1997, the City of Chandler, Arizona ended up in the Federal Court as a result of actions taken against the Hispanic community involving racial profiling.

These practices are almost universally decried in the Press, but apparently, it is not objectionable for the opponents of Proposition 102 to use "Mormon" names to single out and persecute those who favor the Marriage Amendment. In the Arizona Republic article of October 3, 2008 Arizona State Representative Sinema is quoted as stating that "her campaign has identified many of the contributors [in favor of Proposition 102] as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through ... recognition of well-known Mormon names." Apparently, if you have a well-known Mormon name, whatever that is, you cannot participate in the political process in Arizona. Representative Sinema's question, as quoted, is: "Why is one group so determined to inject itself into government?" A group she identifies by their Mormon-sounding surnames.

I find it outrageous that I could be singled out in the Arizona Republic for donating to an important social and political issue merely because I have a "Mormon-sounding" surname. Why is the Arizona Republic participating in this activity which is only a small step away from racial profiling and outright persecution of a religious minority?

I would suggest that anyone who has not investigated and read the background of the Marriage Amendment needs to do their homework. Please read:

The Divine Institution of Marriage

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage