From the Sacramento Bee
April 19, 2005

Same-sex marriage stand opposed
State NAACP doesn't speak for all blacks, pastors say at Capitol event
By Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau

A group of African American pastors and church members Monday denounced the California chapter of the NAACP for endorsing legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

About two dozen opponents of AB 19 held a news conference outside the Capitol to respond to chapter President Alice Huffman's contention that the issue is not "clearly understood" by many black Americans.

"We understand marriage very well - she's the one that's confused if she thinks homosexual marriage is OK," said Brenda Bennett, president of the Sacramento Alliance for Civil Rights.

The Rev. Alfred Walker, a pastor at Calvary Christian Center in Sacramento, said the proposed bill conflicts with Proposition 22. Overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2000, the initiative restricts marriage in California to a man and a woman.

"The people in California have clearly indicated what their preference is concerning this issue," Walker said. "It should not be an issue that judges, legislators and other people try to override."

Earlier Monday, about 70 faith leaders from various denominations gathered outside the California State Library to voice support for the bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

"There's a variety of perspectives among religious communities about same-gender marriage," said the Rev. Rick Scholosser of the 1.5 million-member California Council of Churches.

Scholosser said "a lot has changed" since the passage of Proposition 22. He cited same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco and other cities that have touched off legal challenges.

"As more people discover that they know gays and lesbians, people are realizing this is a civil rights and human rights issue," Scholosser said.

The issue has caused a tug of war inside the African American community over who speaks for African Americans.

Earlier this month, the California chapter of the NAACP became the first chapter of the civil rights group to endorse same-sex marriage by backing AB 19.

"This is really an issue that is not clearly understood by many segments of my community, especially fundamentalists," Huffman told the Associated Press after the vote.

In an interview Monday, Huffman said "black clergy on the Christian right who oppose same-sex marriage are trying to take my comments out of context."

The point she was making, Huffman said, is that under AB 19 clergy would not have "to conduct same-sex marriage if they're against them."

Huffman said she is considering putting the California chapter's resolution to a vote at the national NAACP convention in Milwaukee in July.

"I certainly won't put it out there until I contact some state (chapters) and do some head-counting," Huffman said.

Delegates at last year's NAACP convention declined to consider the issue. But board Chairman Julian Bond has voiced his support for same-sex marriage. Other civil rights leaders who support such unions include Coretta Scott King, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

But backers concede antipathy to same-sex marriage is widespread among African Americans. A national poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 60 percent of black respondents opposed gay marriage.

Other minority organizations have endorsed AB 19, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. But the NAACP's backing is particularly prized by gay rights activists.

As the same-sex marriage debate has escalated, coalitions of black clergy and congregants have held rallies to speak out against the unions. They have bristled against comparing the movement to the civil rights movement.

"We are offended when the homosexual community compares what they do to the civil rights community," Bennett said. "It's not a civil right for anyone to be married - marriage is a privilege."

Leno disagrees, and said polls should not have a bearing. He noted there was widespread opposition to interracial marriages when laws banning them were changed.

"Civil rights is not about putting your finger to the wind," said Leno, whose bill is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 26. "When the law says due process and equal protection for all citizens, it means all citizens."

A similar bill that Leno introduced last year passed the Judiciary Committee. But he withdrew it after it became clear it lacked the necessary votes in the full Assembly.

Craig DeLuz, an organizer of Monday's news conference by black clergy and congregants, vowed opponents of AB 19 will not relent.

"We want members of the Legislature and of the NAACP to know you will not be able to enact these laws without us watching," DeLuz said.