'Prayer and education'
African-American support could help defeat the redefinition of marriage in Maryland
Paul Cleveland (center) shares information with a voter in Cheverly, Md., as his wife, Fredi (left), looks on.
BALTIMORE—Paul and Fredi Cleveland spent hours standing in front of
the Hoyer Early Childhood Center in Cheverly, Md., on Tuesday looking
for chances to do what they love to do: educate.
“I don’t blame people for wanting hope, but they’re believing
lies,” Fredi said, passing out literature against ballot initiatives
that would allow casino gaming and same-sex “marriage” in Maryland. She
said if people have the facts, they would make the right decision.
As African-American Republicans, the Clevelands quickly
acknowledge they’re in a minority, which is why they’re using their
position as pastors of a church, Koinonia Congregation, to educate
people about issues of biblical significance. “We need to approach
voting with prayer and education,” Paul said.
Both sides of the same-sex “marriage”
debate have been educating voters on their views since the Maryland
General Assembly passed the Civil Marriage Protection Act last March.
The Maryland Marriage Alliance responded by rounding up 162,000
signatures—nearly three times the necessary amount—to get a referendum
vote on the ballot.
Same-sex “marriage” and legalizing casino gaming are two of seven
constitutional amendments that—along with a presidential election and
good weather—had Maryland voters coming out in droves Tuesday. Long
lines were a common sight, and conversations more often drifted to
ballot initiatives than the presidential race (President Obama is
expected to carry the state by a double-digit margin).
While I talked with the Clevelands, who are working with the
Maryland Marriage Alliance, an informal exit poll in Cheverly (a
Washington, D.C., suburb) revealed local voters were breaking in favor
of same-sex “marriage” by more than a 2-to-1 margin. The numbers were
similar at nearby Spellman Elementary, where a sampling of voters
favored the measure known as Question 6 by almost 3-to-1.
But those stats don’t tell the whole story: 88 percent of
Cheverly residents are registered Democrats. Traditional marriage is
expected to have less support in metropolitan areas such as Baltimore
and just outside the nation’s capital, and have considerably more
support in the outlying areas of Maryland. A late-October
Baltimore Sun poll showed a dead heat after Question 6 had enjoyed a double-digit polling lead as recent as September.
In Linthicum, seven miles south of Baltimore, Bryan Burr waited
in line for an hour to cast his ballot against same-sex “marriage.” “If
you look at what the end result would be, it will not end well,” he
said. “We have enough problems in this country keeping people married.”
Rae Jones, an African-American who has been married for 28 years,
also voted against the effort to redefine marriage, saying it offends
her when people compare same-sex unions to the civil rights movement.
“They’re not being harmed,” she said. “I don’t have anything against
[homosexuals], but don’t go changing the definition of marriage that’s
in the Bible.”
The Maryland Marriage Alliance has relied heavily on support in
the African-American community to buoy its cause. Chairman Derek McCoy
has lobbied fellow African-American pastors to preach from the pulpit on
the sanctity of traditional marriage—a sermon several voters told me
Tuesday had been delivered at their churches.
My informal exit polling showed gambling was picking up
significantly less support than same-sex “marriage.” Democratic Maryland
Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is pushing all seven state ballot
initiatives, has said allowing casino gaming would provide a windfall
for the state’s public schools. Jones isn’t buying it: “I’ve got friends
in Louisiana and Detroit, where they have casinos, and their schools
are in the toilet.”
In Cheverly, advocates on both sides of the gambling issue passed
out conflicting literature and battled for voters’ attention. Omar
Turner, dressed in a bright blue shirt advertising his cause, said he
thinks Maryland residents should be able to keep the money that is
currently going to casinos in nearby West Virginia and Atlantic City,
N.J. Pat Nelson, wearing a bright red shirt opposing gambling, argued
that the politicians are full of empty promises: “Historically, we know
it’s not going to bring that much to the education trust fund,” she
said. “The numbers don’t add up.”
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