Last weekend in a meeting in Minneapolis, the Democratic convention's platform committee unanimously voted to plow ahead with a pro-same-sex marriage amendment that will call for the repeal of the Bill Clinton-signed Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). News of this development broke yesterday. The exact language of the platform plank is yet to be hammered out but should be available in a few weeks.
At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., yesterday, the Coalition of African-American Pastors announced that unless and until President Obama recants his position for same-sex marriage, they will counsel members of their respective congregations to not vote for Obama as his position on the issue counters biblical teaching.
ABC, CBS, and NBC all failed to cover either development on their July 31 evening newscasts or August 1 morning news programs.
"In a Public Religion Research Institute poll released last week, 18% of black Americans surveyed said they see same-sex marriage a 'critical issue,' putting it behind the economy, education, deficit, a growing wealth gap and immigration," Dan Merica of CNN.com noted.
That's not an insignificant number in the constituency group almost unanimously backed President Obama's election and is a reliably 90 percent-plus Democratic voting bloc.
