I received a copy of a letter sent to Tommy Davis written by a rather influential person. The source who provided this was a third party recipient of the letter and was able to establish to my satisfaction that the letter is authentic . I have decided to publish portions over several days so that the import of the issues it covers are fully aired and considered by readers. The source and I hope that the author of the letter will understand that by publishing the letter we mean no disrespect. Quite the contrary, it is our level of respect for the author’s life work and integrity that makes us confident many people will benefit from the author’s example, others will feel vindicated, and great strides will be made in ending the abuses the letter details.
August 19, 2009
Dear ,
Attached find a letter to Tommy Davis. I am sending it to a handful of people, who I feel deserve an explanation. This was a personal decision; I am not seeking anyone’s agreement. Feel free to call or write me once you’ve read it, but do not feel compelled to do so.
My very best,
Tommy,
As you know, for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California – rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state – shames us.
I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of the church, to condemn their actions. I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated.
In that first conversation, back at the end of October of last year, you told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it and “heads would roll.” You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming. The best you offered was a weak and carefully worded press release, which praised the church’s human rights record and took no responsibility. Even that, you decided not to publish.
The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.
I joined the Church of Scientology thirty-five years ago. During my twenties and early thirties I studied and received a great deal of counseling. While I have not been an active member for many years, I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply it in my daily life. I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally. I saw the organization – with all its warts, growing pains and problems – as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs.
But I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right. In order to contain a potential “PR flap” you allowed our sponsorship of Proposition 8 to stand. Despite all the church’s words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear.
The fact that the Mormon Church drew all the fire, that no one noticed, doesn’t matter. I noticed. And I felt sick. I wondered how the church could, in good conscience, through the action of a few and then the inaction of its leadership, support a bill that strips a group of its civil rights.
END of part A of letter
Blogger’s post script: For those of you who believe Scientology denounces homosexuality, I suggest you have missed the forest for the trees. Of course, LRH wrote that homosexuality was a trait of the 1.1 in Science of Survival in 1951. He wrote a lot of things in the early fifties that he later took a contrary position on or never sought to enforce through subsequent tech or policy. I conducted my own study on the issue when during my tenure as international debug auditor I had occasion to counsel several gay people. LRH never issued a prohibition against homosexuality, he was silent on the issue in the single Policy Letter that he ever issued on sex (2D Rules). LRH had long-time staff close to him who were gay. He never condemned them, he never C/S’d them to be cured, he never bad mouthed them for their sexual preferences. The gay people that I audited attained and maintained case gain as well as any of the straight people I audited. The only complication was handling the enforced withhold they were stuck with from the Scientology community that there was something inherently wrong with them. If you’ve picked up anti-Gay sentiment or prejudice during your tenure in the Church, I believe you ought to evaluate just who made you think that way – and perhaps re-evaluate the issue for yourself.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 