AME votes to bar ministers from performing same-sex unions
BY CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS
Knight Ridder Newspapers


COLUMBIA, S.C. - (KRT) - Delegates at the national convention of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church voted unanimously Wednesday not to allow any of the church's ministers to perform same-sex unions.

The 2.5 million-member, mostly black denomination is the most recent Christian group in the nation to address the hot-button issue of gay marriage.

Delegates at the AME convention in Indianapolis used a unanimous voice vote to pass the motion, which made it illegal within the denomination for any minister to perform a same-sex marriage or civil union.

The vote came without any debate, said the Rev. Joe Darby, pastor of Charleston's Morris Brown AME, who attended the conference. He said it went smoothly because members consider other issues, such as civil rights, education and the presidential election, more urgent.