Q-Salt-Lake names Thomas S. Monson "Person of the Year"

Excerpts from "Person of the Year Thomas S. Monson"  written by JoSelle Vanderhooft, for QSaltLake

When new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Thomas S. Monson signed the now-infamous letter urging California Mormons to "do all you can" to support efforts to pass Proposition 8, he could not have anticipated the effect that signature would ultimately have.

Monson's call for his flock's help in passing what gay activists quickly dubbed "Prop H8te" had consequences neither he nor even most gay people could have predicted. Heartened by Barack Obama's presidential victory on the same evening, protesters took to the streets in several U.S. cities singing, waving signs and chanting Obama's ubiquitous campaign slogan, "Yes we can!"

Two such demonstrations even took place in Salt Lake City.

As strange as it may seem, we at QSaltLake believe that Monson and the Mormon Church are somewhat responsible for this resurgence in U.S. gay rights activism now known as "Stonewall 2.0."

As in Monson's case, it has been a lot of good and ill, not just for gays in Utah and California who now have to deal with Proposition 8's aftershocks, but for the Mormon faithful as well.

Because of one ill-advised letter, we may one day look back on Proposition 8 as not only an unfortunate chapter in U.S. history, but a chapter that also allied gay people.. in the ongoing fight for social justice.