Tom Hanks Apologizes for Calling Mormon Support of Prop 8 'Un-American'

[cynatnite]

Tom Hanks is rethinking his comments about Mormons who supported Proposition 8.

Last week, the star, who is an executive producer for HBO's controversial series Big Love about a group of polygamist Mormons, spoke out about the religious group's involvement in passing the California law, which bans same-sex marriage.

"The truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen," Hanks said at the show's premiere in Los Angeles last Wednesday. "There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them."

A spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Kim Farah, took offense at Hanks's comments, telling FOX News, "Expressing an opinion in a free and democratic society is as American as it gets."

Now, in a exclusive statement to PEOPLE through his representative Leslee Dart, Hanks is softening his stance.

Last week, I labeled members of the Mormon church who supported California's Proposition 8 as "un-American." I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination. But everyone has a right to vote their conscience – nothing could be more American. To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are "un-American" creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use "un- American" lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have.
Sincerely,
Tom Hanks.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20254509,00.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. As far as I'm concerned, EVERYONE who supported Prop 8 is unAmerican

The only thing Hanks did wrong was to say that all Mormons supported the measure, as there were many who did not.

[cynatnite]

3. I disagree....

As horrible as Prop 8 is, supporting it doesn't make a person unAmerican. Dissent and disagreement is very American...I don't have to agree with it, but it doesn't make anyone unAmerican.

Tom Hanks was right to apologize.

[Generic Other]

6. it is unAmerican to discriminate against gays

read the Constitution.

[cynatnite]

13. Yeah, it's somewhere around that thing about freedom of speech...

Listen, as repulsive as having that belief is, I support anyone's right to support what they believe. This is America, and people can support or not support whatever they want.

[Generic Other]

29. yes, they have the right to sound unAmerican

I have the right to say they sound unAmerican.

They don't represent the true spirit of our revolution or the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment IMO.

I don't expect them to care what I say.

[readmoreoften]

34. Hilarious response!

Thumbs up to you.

[cynatnite]

36. They probably felt the same about you when it came to the war...

remember that? We were unAmerican and traitors because of our opposition? We hated America and didn't want it to be safe?

A little hypocritical, I'd say, but I don't expect anyone else to care what I say, either.

[Generic Other]

37. Excuse me but I think the definition of American is one who defends the revolutionary ideals

set forth in the Constitution. Opposing an unfucking constitutional unfuckingdeclared war and a pre-emptive strike policy is NOT unAmerican. Opposing the rights of ALL Americans to one group for any reason is unAmerican.

I have defined my terms. I stand by the Constitution. Who can step forward and show me how opposition to invading Iraq which was NEVER popular in this country was Constitutional. Your use of the word unAmerican is thus incorrect.

And I am not a hypocrite. How dare you characterize me that way.

[cynatnite]

38. You forget that a lot of folks believed that going to war was the right thing to do...

No matter your terms, people have a funny way of determining for themselves what's American and what's not.

The president is commander-in-chief. He's in charge of the armed forces. He can do what he wants with them and doesn't need anyone's approval for that. It's in the constitution.

Now, we can argue that until the cows come home, but it's pointless, IMO. The RW will always say that going to war was right no matter our opinion. They called us traitors and unAmerican over all that. In their eyes, we didn't want America kept safe. That's how they justified it.

You feel they are unAmerican and you justify it in your way. It's not okay for them to do it, but it's okay for you to, is why I consider your position to be a hypocritical one.

[Zhade]

44. "He can do what he wants with them and doesn't need anyone's approval for that."

Of course, that's NOT how it was intended. It changed with the War Powers act.

b*s* violated both international law and our own when he failed to obtain a UN resolution for war.

[EFerrari]

8. Dissent is American enough. VOTING to take rights away is unAmerican.

[U4ikLefty]

12. If Prop 8 was for ONLY intra-racial marriage, would it be un-American?

would it's supporters be un-American?

[cynatnite]

16. I support anyone's right to support or not support whatever they choose...

Last I checked we live in a country where we have that right. As disgusting as Prop 8 is, any American has the right to support it or not.

An American is someone who was born here, had American parents or parent, were naturalized or any of the other ways one can become a citizen of the United States.

IMO, calling someone unAmerican is a way of silencing dissent which is unacceptable no matter the reasons.

[U4ikLefty]

19. un-American

–adjective

not American; not characteristic of or proper to the U.S.; foreign or opposed to the characters, values, standards, goals, etc., of the U.S.

[cynatnite]

22. and we know how precise the definition of 'values' are in this country...

:sarcasm:

[U4ikLefty]

32. ...or the definition of "goals" ? n/t

[Seeking Serenity]

23. Because we all know that voting one's conscience on an issue or a candidate

is certainly "opposed to the characters, values, standards, goals, etc., of the U.S."

[U4ikLefty]

33. When "voting one's conscience " = taking away established rights then YES

it is certainly "opposed to the characters, values, standards, goals, etc., of the U.S."

[Zhade]

45. They have the right to support bigotry, but not to take away others' rights.

NT!

[TechBear_Seattle]

24. I know I am invoking a logical fallacy, but I really believe

No true American would act to strip citizens of what the courts had already determined to be a constitutional right.

I stand by what I wrote.

[Malikshah]

31. It is unamerican. Denying civil rights for all is unamerican. Stripping them from a part of

society is decidedly unamerican.

Accept the fact that this is not a mere disagreement. To call it as such is shameful and shows a complete lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation.

Hanks caved. Would that he had stood his ground and allowed the discussion to continue.

[cynatnite]

35. We have a right to support or not support whatever we choose...

we vote our conscience, no matter what other people may think. That is American. I will fight for anyone to express themselves, no matter the repugnance of their message...or even how they vote.

That is what Hanks is saying. They have the right to voice their disproval and vote any way they see fit...no matter what anyone else thinks. That right is what makes them and us Americans.

I say all thise because I remember being called a traitor and unAmerican when I opposed the war. I was told that I was unAmerican because I didn't want America to be safe.

This is no different than before the war when the repukes did it, IMO.

[Malikshah]

39. One hopes that folks don't start voting to imprisoning red-headed

step children for fear that they will steal the birth children's souls then.

That is the logic being put forth here.

Stripping rights from a segment of society based upon belief is unAmerican. Reality is inconvenient for some--they need to suck it up and deal with it.

The fact that people want to make this an intellectual discussion of freedom of express shows how very far away they are from the reality of what has occurred.

[Zhade]

46. No, they do NOT have the right to vote to take away others' rights!

How fucking dare you. Prop H8 violates the Bill of Rights.

[Book Lover]

40. Purchasing a law to impose your religion's doctrine on every Californian became "American" when?

The Mormon Church can preach all it wants against teh evul of teh gay, and that's American, yes. Buying a law via the initiative process in order to force every non-Mormon gay couple wishing to wed in California to comply with Mormon doctrine and not get married, not so much.

[ldf]

42. it IS unamerican to even begin to think

that human rights can be put to popular vote...

it is the antithesis of everything america should stand for.

:grr:

[Seldona]

48. Well said. nt

[LeftyMom]

43. Opposition to equal rights probably isn't UnAmerican (I mean geez, look at our history)

but it's certainly a position one associates with assholes.

[laconicsax]

2. Will no one stand up to whiny religious bigots?

[TechBear_Seattle]

25. Not the Democratic Party, obviously

Instead, we give them a worldwide platform from which to speak.

[Starry Messenger]

4. I'm really pissed he retracted this.

I wish he'd stuck to his original statement. Prop 8 is ridiculous and unpatriotic. It was the most money ever spent to get a prop to pass, and it was largely Mormon donations that broke through the firewall in California in the last weeks before the election.

[Seeking Serenity]

5. He did the right thing in apologising.

Voting differently than you does not make one "un-American," "unpatriotic," or anything other than, in your opinion, wrong or misguided.

He probably made the statement in a fit of pique, and he was right to apologise once he'd had a chance to think better of it.

[dflprincess]

27. Voting to deny fellow citizens equal rights under the law is unAmerican

Would you be willing to defend these bigots if they had just voted to deny rights to women or African-Americans?

[Zhade]

47. +1,000

What you said.

[Ian David]

7. I would have added, "It's not un-American. but it is douchebaggish." n/t

[treestar]

9. It is very un-American

In the sense that there be any group of people without equal rights.

[SoCalDem]

10. I wish people would QUIT apologizing for what they think

Perhaps they should keep their feelings to themselves, but when they speak up and say their truth..what they believe..and then apologize because it might affect their incomes or their careers, it's stupid, because the people that "demanded' the apology still don't "like them", and will still hold what they said, against them,..no matter how many apologies... and to their fans & friends, they now appear weak, without true conviction, and wishywashy.

[Seeking Serenity]

11. Glad to know you've never apologised for saying something you later wished you hadn't.

Just because one speaks in a moment of emotion doesn't necessarily mean it comes from a source of truth.

Emotion can be blinding as well as enlightening.

[SoCalDem]

14. People never forget what you say about them..apology or not

The best course of action is to NOT offend them in the first place, BUT having said that, an apology for saying what your beliefs are, is not sincere, so no one believes you anyway..

Hanks THOUGHT their support was trashing people and Un-American.. he said it.. he believed it..

He can apologize all he wants, but "they" know where he stands and so do we.. His apology is what rings hollow.

If you step on someone's foot and say you are sorry, or you forget a birthday and say you are sorry, an apology is believable, but if you say "You are FAT", to a 400lb person", an apology will not "do" it..

[Seeking Serenity]

20. I guess whether an apology "will do it" depends on the capacity of the other person to forgive.

Perhaps, just perhaps, Tom Hanks actually doesn't believe that merely voting for or supporting Prop 8 was un-American, but it just came out in an unthinking moment.

I agree with the other posters who say that hurling the epithet "un-American" at people because they disagree with you politically as a means to stifle dissent or to cow others has got to stop.

[Beregond2]

15. Please. Read his words carefully.

He did NOT retract his statement. He clarified it.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

17. Why the fuck is it that we are the only ones expected to apologize...

...when we insult people? Republicans say the nastiest, ugliest things, and they never have to apologize. Fucking pisses me off.
Duckie

[Cha]

18. I like what he said the first time

but realize he's trying not to be more divisive.

[TheKentuckian]

21. Expressing their stupid opinion on other people's business isn't what is unAmerican

but the working to take away people's rights is. America is about freedom to pursue happiness as long as you don't tread on me and their actions spit in the face of such beliefs.

[Zomby Woof]

26. "...and that's all I have to say about that."

[Sebastian Doyle]

28. Actually, by definition, Mormons ARE Unamerican.

They believe they are spirit children from the planet Kolob, and that the Prophet Brigham Young led them to The New Zion - or in other words, the latter day holy land, replacing Israel. They believe that Jesus will return not to Jerusalem, as the Bible predicts, but to Independence Missouri, which is where the LDS church was located before their mass evacuation to Utah.

Of course the same could probably be said of any church that believes in any sort of Dominionism, but the Mormons don't even bother denying it.

[UTUSN]

30. *Why* did he do that?!1 But,. O.K. n/t

[JI7]

41. if the Founding Fathers had lived today they would oppose Prop 8

those who support Prop 8 would have opposed the founding fathers.

[eggplant]

49. Look, this is very simple

There's nothing, NOTHING wrong with the Mormon church dropping assloads of cash on Prop 8.

The problem is hiding behind a tax-exempt shield while doing it.

Want free speech? Then pay your fucking taxes like the rest of us.

See? Simple.

[Malikshah]

50. Tom-- they're unreligious as well. Hiding behind one's faith is a betrayal of the divine.

Using scripture to deny people their rights, livelihood, and life is something that the divine will punish.

Guess the religious bigots will have to wait and find out the hard way.