NAACP Calls For Prop 8 to Be Overturned

Jim Burroway

February 25th, 2009

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has joined the California chapter in calling for Proposition 8 to be overturned:

“The NAACP’s mission is to help create a society where all Americans have equal protection and opportunity under the law,” said President [Benjamin Todd] Jealous. “Our Mission Statement calls for the ‘equality of rights of all persons.’ Prop. 8 strips same-sex couples of a fundamental freedom, as defined by the California State Supreme Court. In so doing, it poses a serious threat to all Americans. Prop. 8 is a discriminatory, unprecedented change to the California Constitution that, if allowed to stand, would undermine the very purpose of a constitution and courts – assuring equal protection and opportunity for all and safeguarding minorities from the tyranny of the majority.”

…”The NAACP has long opposed any proposal that would alter the federal or state constitutions for the purpose of excluding any groups or individuals from guarantees of equal protection,” said Chairman [Julian] Bond. “We urge the legislature to declare that Proposition 8 did not follow the proper protective process and should be overturned as an invalid alteration that vitiated crucial constitutional safeguards and fundamental American values, threatening civil rights and all vulnerable minorities.”

The NAACP statement urges passage of House Resolution 5 and Senate Resolution 7, which would put the legislature on record as viewing Prop. 8 as an improper alteration of the California Constitution. The question is currently before the California Supreme Court, which is expected to hear arguments on March 5.

Mark M

February 25th, 2009

I salute them! It was really hard watching the Black Religious leaders endorse bigotry. and my heart is warmed to get this evidence that there are those in leadership positions within the AA community who reject discrimination.

gar

February 25th, 2009

Welcomed, but not surprising, especially considering that the leader, Julian Bond, is a civil rights giant. Let us hope that any future campaigns on behalf of equality will include this venerable institution.

Timothy Kincaid

February 25th, 2009

I am very appreciative of the support of the NAACP. And they are exactly right in recognizing that if a fundamental right of a suspect class can be eliminated by a simple majority vote, then the Constitution has no protections for any minority including those protections that shield racial minorities from discrimination.

Richard Rush

February 25th, 2009

I believe black voters will shift to the side of equality long before religious fanatics. For blacks, I think the situation has been primarily a long-standing ingrained cultural prejudice, which infected almost all people at one time. But that would seem much more subject to change through rational debate than a cultural prejudice that is buttressed by religion’s absolute magic truth which many people feel compelled to believe lest they literally burn for all eternity. And, regardless of the burn-factor, there is nothing quite like having your beliefs in sync with a deity to give them traction.

While Richard Cizak was forced to resign from the National Association of Evangelicals after a publicised shift in his position on gays, I doubt that any NAACP leaders will be forced to resign.

Timothy Kincaid

February 25th, 2009

Richard,

How then does one explain the events occurring this month in the Lutheran (ECLA) and Presbyterian (PCUSA) chuches? It seems that they have found a way to overlook the burn factor and discovered that acceptance is in sync with their diety.

Richard Rush

February 25th, 2009

Timothy,

I would explain that the ECLA and PCUSA as they exist today, in general, are not comprised of religious fanatics. They have mostly found a way to remain involved with their religious traditions while incorporating the enormous advances in knowledge of the real world. And they certainly don’t allow the nastiest passages of the Bible to be the driving force in their lives.

But it seems that most of the so-called mainstream denominations have factions within them that exhibit much of the traits of those we may refer to as the Religious Right (or religious fanatics).

PCUSA has a faction called the Presbyterian Lay Committee whose views on gays appear to align with our more rabid opponents. And I have relatives who have left the PCUSA because they are too liberal. So, where do PCUSA people go when they leave? One place might be the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) which is fairly far to the right of PCUSA.

And then there are the well publicized splits within the Episcopal Church since Gene Robinson became a bishop.

I really do understand that all people who self-identify as Christians are not the same.

Timothy (TRiG)

February 26th, 2009

Many people imagine they get their moral guidance from religion. Few, if any, actually do.

I like the phrasing of that quote from the NAACP. It’s clear and coherent. It makes sense.

And it’s founded in the real world.

TRiG.

Timothy Kincaid

February 26th, 2009

Richard,

Thank you for making the distinction between religious adherents and religious fanatics. That is often missed by non-religious persons.

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