Reverend quits Iowa/Nebraska NAACP over same-sex marriage

June 8, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Reverend quits Iowa/Nebraska NAACP over same-sex marriage

By Catholic Online

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Rev. Keith Ratliff Sr., a prominent leader in the Iowa/Nebraska branch of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights group, has announced his resignation as branch president and a national board member. Ratliff affiliated with the Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church in Des Moines issued a statement, saying he was resigning the NAACP national board as Iowa/Nebraska state conference president “due to the NAACP’s position and support of same-sex marriage.

“I want to thank the NAACP for the privilege to humbly serve in such an organization and thank all those I had the privilege to work with in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and throughout the country,” Ratliff said in the statement.

An outspoken critic of same-sex marriage rights, Ratliff has spoken at Statehouse rallies seeking an amendment to the Iowa Constitution to undo a controversial, landmark state Supreme Court ruling in April 2009 that gave legal status to same-gender marriages. The proposed constitutional amendment would define marriage in Iowa as only between one man and one woman.

During a Statehouse rally in March 2011, Ratliff said his support for traditional marriage was biblically based, adding, “This isn’t a private interpretation, a Burger King religion, and by that I mean a ‘have it your way’ religion.”

The national board of directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People voted in favor of same-sex marriages last year.

In addition to his religious duties, Ratliff serves on numerous community boards and leads a quarterly NAACP leadership meeting with Governor Vilsack addressing issues such as education, healthcare, justice and economic empowerment as they impact Iowa’s African American and minority communities.

Ratliff and his wife have been married for 32 years and have five children.

© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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