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Not surprisingly, division still remains regarding the NAACP's decision to support marriage equality.
An organization of black clergy members traveled to the NAACP's annual convention in Houston to protest the civil rights group's endorsement of same-sex marriage.
More after the jump.
According to The Huffington Post, "The Coalition of African-American Pastors (CAAP), headed by Rev. William Owens of Memphis, Tenn., said that the NAACP had abandoned its core mission by supporting same-sex marriage."
Owens states, "This is supposed to be an organization for black people who were beaten, who were mistreated and who were enslaved. You're advocating for something that's not normal, that's not natural. It's still out of line, it's against moral law."
Jeez. Who peed in his Cheerios? (Probably a gay!)
Owens continues, "Gay marriage is leading us down a bad path. Our young people are already hurt. They're already damaged."
Owens tells Huff Po that the NAACP should focus on issues like unemployment and education. He also notes that CAAP's online petition in support of "traditional marriage" has garnered at least 5,000 signatures since last week when they announced their anti-marriage equality initiative.
He also doubts that the NAACP membership would have backed the resolution, which was decided by NAACP boardmembers.
"If they have taken an issue where they asked members, they would have lost," Owens said. "They had to do it under cloak of darkness."
NAACP President Ben Jealous disagrees, "If you go to the board, you'll see a lot of religious leaders. All of the religious leaders on our board, except for one, were for marriage equality."
Whether or not the NAACP is unanimous in their support of marriage equality, but we certainly appreciate the board choosing to support what's right rather than folding under the pressure of a vocal group that wants to suppress the rights of others.
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