OCR Text |
Show IffiiOTYlI Iff 7 SECTION 0 SATURDAY, MAY 31. 2008 Elyssa Andrus EDITOR eandrusSheraldextra.com 344-255- LaRae Free Kerr It's All Relatives ,'fV MORMONAND , v ' MOUNTAIN WEST SITES Let's BENJAMIN SKLARAssociated Press DEBATE REOPENS ON GAY W ASSOCIATED PRESS i .... iHM 1 a mmrnm". "1 or conservative Christian activists, this month's California Supreme H J Court ruling legalizing gay mar-- I riage provides an opportunity to j rekindle interest in an issue that fl has fallen well behind the price of gas in the national consciousness. But it won't be easy, and not just because of pressing secular issues like the housing downturn and an unpopular war in Iraq. Voices within evangelicalism are pushing for a broader agenda, and evidence suggests younger evangelicals are more accepting of margays and lesbians. Meanwhile, anti-ga- y riage amendments are on the ballot in only a few states and the issue doesn't play to presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain's strengths. Yet gay marriage opponents say the California ruling will help them broaden their religious coalitions to include more Hispanic Catholics and evangelicals. The ruling, they say, made their argument for them: Constitutional measures are needed to prevent judges from subverting the will of the people and reinventing a sacred institution g they believe is central to society's and part of God's design. "I think the California decision does refocus our movement on the threat of marriage being redefined," said John Stemberger, who as head of the Florida Family Policy Council is supporting a proposed amendment in that swing state that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. It would prohibit civil unions providing the same benefits of marriage. Thirteen states approved amendments in 2004 prohibiting gay marriage, a reaction to 1 105C . Ah, there is a little blurb on Carter. Under "Biography and Journal Excerpts" on the Signature Book site, www.signaturebook-slibrary.orI find a listing of excerpts from 19 people, two of whom are of interest to me, but no Carter. However, the card catalog of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (DUP) site, www. dupinternational.org, lists many more Mormon folks, and Simeon A. Carter is one of them. I'll need to call or visit to get a copy of his biography. While in the DUP site, I check for his picture by clicking on "Photo Index." There is one. Won't having a picture of the missionary enhance my family history? At Heritage Gateways, heritage.uen.org, I discover that Carter sailed from Liverpool, England, on Sept. 7, 1848, on the ship Erin's Queen. He was in charge of 232 people who disembarked at New Orleans. This site has a short list of historical pioneer biographies, maps and ship information. I check out the lesson plans and decide to use a few on neighbors and grandkids. On Brigham Young University's Mormon Biographical Register there is a slightly longer biography of Carter, at LtivIJLj Eric Gorski THE J well-bein- AARAi Ih I 3UUU " f 74 f s t MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZAssociated Press bioregisters.aspx. Thoughmany more people are named here, the information is often scant, probably because the names come from only three books. Though a Carter is listed in the Juanita Brooks collection at the Utah State Historical l, Society at opponent Don Grundmann left argues with supporter Jeffrey Auman outside of the California Supreme Court in San Francisco on March 4. For conservative Christian activists, this month's California Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage provides an opportunity to rekindle interest in an issue that has fallen well behind the price of gas in the national consciousness. Gay marriage a Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizing marriage the year before. Conservative Christian groups credited the marriage measures with inspiring "values President voter" turnout and helping Bush. Several studies disputed that, showing partisanship, the Iraq War and national securi same-se- x ty were far more important factors nationally. Other research, however, found that in Ohio, a battleground state that went for Bush, a successful amendment banning gay marriage did move votes toward the president. See history.utah.govFin-dAidsB00103b0103.htm- the name is Sophronia, not Simeoa However, since Juanita and I are distant cousins, I see she has files on several common relatives. When I back out of the site to history.utah.govFindAids, I find MARRIAGE, D2 See I.O ti-miF- t I HEY, HOW HUCH FOR THIS OLD CASH REGISTER? f I 7 I DUNNO... FIVE BUCKS? J S OAS. CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME FOR THIS TWENTY? ? IcHANGE 1 U ) ? f V THAT'S THE TROUBLE WITH IN A THRIFT SHOP.... YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S FOR WORKING D2 KERR, S f J ff mo? CAli CIIZIIZII I ! tffl t) jO 1 VI V J? a and Mountain West relatives, and you figure there's more on the Web by now than what I recommended last year or the year before. Or maybe you know more ancestral names than you did when I last did a column on Western and Mormon sources. Or maybe you just have a few unfettered moments by the computer and want to have some fun. Here's a list of URLs you can look at. Maybe somebody to whom you are related in some way will show up. When I discovered that Simeon Carter, a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, taught my family in Illinois in 1833, 1 wanted to know more about him. So I turned to some biographical sites such as Biographical Register, Stuart Gaffney left and John Lewis hold hands with their wedding bands on in San Francisco on June 30, 2006. More California voters now support allowing same-se- x marriage than oppose it, according to a new poll released on Wednesday. MA say you'd like to find more about your TO 1 ; SUBSCRIBE 7, - .Lj(J T |