“NCLR has taken a strong stand on marriage equality and our Board of Directors wanted to affirm and support that decision, which I very much appreciate,” [NCLR President Janet Murguía] told the Blade. “ That unanimous vote recognizes that marriage equality and LGBT issues are, and need to be, part of NCLR’s core civil rights agenda.”

Last month, NCLR released a study which found that 54 percent of Latinos support marriage equality. This is consistent with the rest of the American population.

A similar resolution was passed by the NAACP in May.

Photo: NCLR President Janet Murguía

“With its support for gay marriage, the NAACP has done more than strike a blow for fairness and equality. The nation’s most venerable civil rights organization has made itself relevant again.

“The NAACP’s 64-member board approved a resolution Saturday supporting ‘marriage equality’ not as a matter of empathy or compassion but as a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. In citing this rationale, the 103-year-old organization founded by W.E.B. Du Bois firmly linked the campaign for gay rights to the epic African American struggle for freedom and justice.

…

“Those tempted to see the NAACP’s stance as purely symbolic haven’t read the fine print. The resolution commits the organization to ‘oppose any national, state, local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the constitutional rights of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender] citizens.’”

The NAACP’s support for marriage equality affirms that marriage is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution.