GAYS DEFEND MARRIAGE

Why did African-Americans vote so heavily (70 percent) for Proposition 8 in California? It’s been suggested that the reason is because blacks are more religious and church-oriented than whites. Yet the NAACP is pro-choice, as are many blacks (certainly more than 30 percent). African-Americans are overwhelmingly liberal on most issues (gay marriage and school choice are the two exceptions I can think of) so there has to be a reason beyond “religious” to explain the lopsided black vote for Prop. 8.

It’s also been suggested that African-Americans were rejecting the civil-rights rhetoric of the “No on 8″ campaign, and taking a stand that gay-marriage isn’t a civil rights issue in any way comparable to the African-American freedom struggle. I like that explanation, but doubt it was wholly responsible for such a large swing in the black vote against the standard liberal position.

So why didn’t blacks support gays, their erstwhile allies, in California in November? The floor is open for discussion.