Democrats' support for gay marriage alienates black pastors

[trotsky]

Support for same-sex marriage is now in the Democratic Party preliminary platform. Once approved by the full platform committee and voted on at the convention, same-sex marriage will have the party's formal support.

But as Democrats institutionalize their support for same sex-marriage, their relationship with the party's most loyal constituency, black Americans, becomes increasingly uneasy.

...

A group of 3,700-plus black pastors, the Coalition of African-American Pastors, under the leadership of the Rev. William Owens, has moved to formally oppose the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama on this issue.

The group is spearheading a "Mandate for Marriage" campaign to gather 100,000 signatures on a petition declaring support for traditional marriage. The petition also calls for Obama "to repudiate his assertion that gay marriage is a civil right."

More at the Minneapolis StarTribune...

It is sad that some individuals are blind to the historical parallels. Why would a progressive religious group oppose this progressive goal?

[atreides1]

1. F**k 'em

They are just as bigoted as those those that turned water hoses on MLK's followers!!!

And if they're against equality for others, then they are not progressive...just another group of religious fanatics trying to push their beliefs down others throats and denying equal rights for all Americans.

[LibAsHell]

2. Shows just how easy it is for people to discriminate

Even those who have been, and continue to be, discriminated against. We now have huge, AA communities who believe themselves to be superior, as a minority, than homosexuals and are insulted that anyone would dare compare the two.

And, amazingly, religion is once again being used to justify it all.

The Democrats need to stick with it, though.

[MinneapolisMatt]

3. Tough shit.

A bigot is a bigot is a bigot. End of story.

[MjolnirTime]

4. All old bigots eventually pass away. It's their grandchildren we should focus on.

[cbayer]

5. Starr Parker - ugh. Progressive religious group my ass.

[trotsky]

7. That's just the writer of the piece, and therefore a red herring.

Do you dispute the facts?

[Fresh_Start]

6. how well is their current strategy working?

<20% of population with >40% of new HIV cases
70% of black HIV cases are black men
>70% of the black men cases are attributed to sex between men

Perhaps instead of fighting against marriage equality, they should be fighting for
marriage equality (committed relationships less likely to spread HIV)
and for improved access sex education (yes, you can get pregnant and HIV even if he doesn't come inside).

Apparently praying isn't working against the gay or for families.

[trotsky]

8. It's a common problem in human thinking.

When one is religiously committed to a philosophy, one will do anything but admit the philosophy is flawed.

We see it in the Republican party - "tax cuts for the wealthy will create jobs!" is the mantra. When the biggest tax cuts for the rich in the history of the country are pushed through, and 11 years later we're still in the job doldrums, well, that doesn't prove the philosophy wrong, it just means they weren't cut enough! Yeah, that's the ticket!

[Iggo]

9. White ones, too.

And tough shit.

[skepticscott]

10. Only religion

could blind African-Americans to the parallels between their fight for equality and civil rights and the same fight that gays and lesbians are engaged in now, and lead them to fight against the same equality they fought so hard to gain for themselves. ONLY religion.