Gay marriage: For blacks it's a moral, not political, issue

December 10, 2009
By The Rev. Reginald T. Jackson
Star-Ledger Guest Columnist

New Jersey is ground zero today in the discussion and debate about gay marriage. The nation will be watching to see what our Legislature does when the state Senate votes on the issue. Whether it has the 21 votes necessary for approval is uncertain.

But the question has been asked, where do African-Americans stand on the issue of gay marriage and why? As reported in the latest Quinnipiac Poll, a large majority of African-Americans — 61 percent to 28 percent — oppose gay marriage. This is the case not only in New Jersey, but nationwide. Many may be surprised, but African-Americans historically are conservative on moral issues.

Supporters of gay marriage say it is a civil rights issue, and after all that African-Americans have been through, it was assumed that African-Americans would be supportive. Most African-Americans, however, don’t look at gay marriage as a civil rights issue, but rather as a religious or theological issue. the rest