Are Black ministers chasing after the wrong issue?

This is something I intend to post over at my other blog The Sixth Ward although at the suggestion of the other bloggers it was pushed back to much later.

As of late gay marriage is the debate of the moment. It has heated up even though we already have in this state civil unions for everybody. Still right now in spite of the many issues that are truly affecting this state such as its finances, crime, economy, etc. gay marriage seems to have the attention of our state's leadership.

I found this comment interesting this morning from a Tribune article found via Capitol Fax last Thursday. The underlying issue is gay marriage, however, there is a wrinkle in this as many of this state's Black legislators aren't yet on board:

"To be honest with you, it's a little disheartening," said Democratic Rep. Will Davis of Homewood, a black caucus member who has not made up his mind as he works out whether gay marriage is a moral or public policy issue.

"There are so many large-scale issues important to the black community, but you've never heard from them," Davis said of the churches opposed to gay marriage. "This doesn't create jobs. It doesn't create opportunities and, for the most part, they are silent on helping African-Americans getting job opportunities in this state. They are silent on the increasing prison population."

The second paragraph is worth some discussion. It could beg the question if you believe that Black churches should be taking a bigger role in helping Blacks get job opportunities or having a role with regards to the prison population such as keeping people out of jail.

On the other hand I'm sure many of you might disagree with Rep. Davis' statement above. Hopefully someone has something to say.