Michigan legislator Triette Reeves has few evangelical Christians living in her Detroit district. As a black Democrat, she has never associated with religious conservatives.
But there she was at a recent news conference, standing with white evangelical Republicans in support of a state constitutional amendment to define marriage as an institution involving a man and a woman -- blocking legalization of same-sex marriage.
Across the country, unusual alliances are forming to protect the traditional definition of marriage from anticipated court rulings. While the movement draws from a variety of demographic groups, it relies heavily on two -- white evangelicals and religious blacks -- that have historically been at odds over issues ranging from affirmative action to welfare reform.
On gay marriage, they seem to be reading from the same Bible.
"I know people are trying to make this into a sexy thing, like, `Ooh, it's a conspiracy, they're getting together,'" said Reeves. "I have no interest in being a Republican. I'm a Democrat. But I believe there should be some diversity in our party, and the diversity I'm talking about is the freedom to be consistent with our moral beliefs.
"From the African-American perspective, which is the only perspective I can give, our focus is, `God said it, we believe it, and we should promote it.' I know that sounds elementary but it's really that simple."
For years, gay marriage seemed an unlikely possibility. But that was before an eventful summer.
In June, the Supreme Court struck down Texas' anti-sodomy law, which, according to Justice Antonin Scalia's blistering dissent, clears the legal path for gay marriage. Some legal scholars say the breakthrough ruling could come in pending court decisions on gay marriage in Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Polls show the shift in thinking.
In May, a Gallup survey reported that 49 percent of the public would support a law allowing gay men and lesbians to form civil unions providing some of the rights and legal protections of marriage. When a Washington Post poll asked the same question in August, support had dropped to 37 percent.
Gay rights groups are hoping that's just a blip on a longer trend line showing increasing acceptance of gay marriage. They argue the definition of marriage needs to be broadened to secure equal rights and benefits, such as Social Security survivor benefits.
"Gay Americans are taxpaying, hard-working citizens who deserve these basic legal protections," said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group.
Opposition to gay marriage is strongest among two groups, according to a survey released July 24 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. More than eight of 10 white evangelicals and six of 10 African-Americans oppose the idea.
