Some say African-American voters are closer to Republicans than Democrats on the issue. | REUTERS Black voters divided on gay marriage

President Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage put new attention on a widely held belief that African-American voters are closer to Republicans than Democrats when it comes to the issue.

It’s accepted political wisdom that African-Americans will turn out in strength at the polls in November to protect Obama’s legacy. But pollsters point out that while opposition to same-sex marriages has fallen in the black community, there’s still enough widespread opposition to potentially influence a tight election.


“A lot of the people that I have spoken to that are self-identified Democrats are completely and totally against gay marriage — they believe it’s a sin,” said Michelle Bernard, president of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy.

In North Carolina in 2008, black turnout was the engine that propelled Obama to a key swing-state victory; the president captured over 95 percent of that vote, according to exit polls. On Tuesday, however, reports from North Carolina indicate support among black voters for Amendment 1, defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, and effectively nullifying the rights of same-sex partners. Public Policy Polling projected 60-65 percent of African-Americans would vote in favor of the ban.

A coalition of conservative activists and African-American ministers helped drive black turnout, according to reports. Ad campaigns on both sides compared the vote to African-Americans’ struggle for civil rights — a move that many black voters opposed to the initiative saw as offensive.

Yet a Pew Center poll released in April showed that the African-American community has softened in its opposition to gay marriage: In a 2008 survey, 67 percent of respondents said they didn’t approve of it, but in 2012 that number had dropped to 49 percent.

Aisha Moodie-Mills, an African-American and gay rights activist who spearheaded a movement to legalize gay marriage in Washington, D.C., thinks the community’s evolution was actually ahead of the president’s.

“I do not believe the black community is any more homophobic than any other community. It is not in my experience,” said Moodie-Mills, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who noted that the amendment was part of the state’s Republican primary, drawing more black conservatives.

Still, “there is an education process that needs to happen” that’s reflected in the North Carolina vote, and Obama’s change of heart, she said.

Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher said Obama shouldn’t worry about black voters abandoning him over the issue.

“The fairness argument — that gays are being discriminated against — is one that gives African-Americans a great deal of pause,” said Belcher, noting that African-Americans have remained firmly behind Obama even though the black unemployment rate is nearly double that of whites. “The history of black people in this country had been one of fighting for fairness and equality.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a nonissue,” he said. “But on the list of things that keep me up at night worrying about Obama’s reelection, it’s really low on the list.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized information about how many African-Americans voted in favor of the North Carolina amendment. The information originally included in the story came from public polling taken before the vote. That version also had Moodie-Mills’ and Belcher’s names spelled incorrectly.

CORRECTION: Corrected by: Andrea Drusch @ 05/10/2012 08:48 PM CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized information about how many African-Americans voted in favor of the North Carolina amendment. The information originally included in the story came from public polling taken before the vote. That version also had Moodie-Mills’ and Belcher’s names spelled incorrectly.