Nebraska Man
Faces Excommunication for Speaking Out Against Marriage
Ban

Andrew Callahan of Hastings, Neb., has set off a firestorm in the Mormon Church for speaking out against Proposition 8, the ballot measure to constitutionally ban gay marriage in California. He now faces excommunication.

On Monday, Callahan received a letter from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that said, "You are reported to have participated in conduct unbecoming a member of the church and have been in apostasy." But Callahan, who started the anti-Prop. 8 website Signing for Something, was unfazed, telling ABC that "I am a member of a church that is oppressing people and that just seems wrong to me and I am trying to stop them. I can't believe there is a God who is a bigot, and it just seems like the same sort of racial bigotry that the Mormon Church was known for in the '50s, '60s, and '70s."

The LDS Church publicly backs the marriage ban and has reportedly given up to 40% of the money raised by the Yes on 8 campaign.

Callahan, who is not gay, will appear before an LDS disciplinary hearing on Friday night. And while excommunication is likely, Callahan is undeterred.

"We're just wrong and we need to change that, and I'm not going to stop when they excommunicate me and I am not going to apologize and beg them to keep me a member of the church," he said. (The Advocate)