Friday, November 7, 2008

African Americans Overwhelmingly Supported California's Proposition 8

Last night, I was watching Charlie Rose interview Mitchell Gold, the CEO of Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, the furniture retailer.

Gold is also openly gay and was being interviewed about his book Crisis which profiles the experiences of gays and lesbians.

The interview can be found at http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/11/06/13/a-conversation-with-mitchell-gold.

At one point Gold states the following:

James Dobson (head of Focus on the Family) is running around the state of California saying the world is coming to an end if gay people get married...It's the same things that were said about interacial marriage.

However, what Gold does not mention is that 70% of African-American voters (most of whom voted for Barack Obama) backed Proposition 8 that has jettisoned gay marriage in California.

Gold can criticize Dobson to his heart's content. But I wonder what Gold and other gay rights activists have to say about more than two thirds of the African American community that doesn't liken gay marriage to interacial marriage? I suspect they will have nothing to say because they don't want to be called racist. It is easier for gay rights activists to pick on white Evangelicals because they know nothing bad will happen to them.

For the record, if I were a resident of California I would have voted against Proposition 8. As a resident of Massachusetts should a similar ballot initiative be presented here I would vote against it. It is perfectly reasonable for gay rights activists to be disappointed at the outcome of the vote. It is also perfectly reasonable that they prepared to take African Americans to task and not just selectively criticize white Evangelicals.

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