Harris tells African church conference 'we are not going back' as its leaders voted to ban gay marriage

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, thanked leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church for their support this week and told them she is determined to move the country forward for them, but the church's leaders don't seem to want that when it comes to gay marriage.

Leaders of the AME church voted Wednesday at its 52nd quadrennial conference held in Columbus, Ohio, to strike down a bill that would have ended the AME church's ban on same-sex marriage. 

In an address to attendees of the conference the same day, Harris slammed Republicans for trying to pull the country backward. 

"We face a choice between two very different visions for the future of our nation. One, ours, that is focused on the future. The other focused on the past," Harris told those in attendance. "But we are not going back." 

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Gay marriage was legalized by the federal government in 2015. 

The AME church is a predominantly Black church based in the U.S. It originated due to racial animosity between Black and White congregants in the Methodist church during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today, 92% of the AME church's congregants identify as Democrats, according to the polling firm Pew Research Center. 

Leaders of the AME church have been credited with helping play a key role in getting President Biden elected in 2020 and this year have campaigned with prominent Democratic candidates.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a former Democratic member of Congress, attends an AME church service. (Getty Images)

Although the church boasts a vast network of Democratic congregants, its position on same-sex marriage remains out of step with the official stance of the Democratic Party.

In 2004, the church's leaders released a statement indicating gay marriage was contradictory to how they interpret the Bible, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ nonprofit.  

More recently, there has been internal disagreement on the matter, illustrated by Wednesday's vote to strike down the church's gay marriage ban, which received 896 nays and 722 yeas. 

While Harris seems unconcerned with the AME church's stance on gay marriage, she has had some harsh words for Republicans on other "anti-equality" measures.

She previously referred to GOP lawmakers who have sought to keep biological males out of girls' bathrooms, limit public drag shows open to minors and restrict transgender care to only adults as "extremists." 

"These so-called leaders have proposed and passed more than 75 new anti-equality bills across our country," Harris said at a Pride Month event last year.

Republicans, meanwhile, have derided Harris as a "political chameleon" who shifts her policy positions for political purposes.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the 20th Quadrennial Convention of the Women & Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in August 2023.  (Getty Images)

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The Harris campaign did not respond to questions on whether the vice president was aware of the AME church's stance on gay marriage prior to filming her message that was played at the conference or if she still supports the rights of same-sex couples to get married. The AME church hung up the phone when Fox News Digital tried to reach out. 

"This is the most consequential election of our lifetime," Harris told the congregants Wednesday, thanking them "deeply" for their support and get-out-the-vote efforts. Harris made no mention of LGBTQ issues during her short message but did touch on economic, health and religious liberty issues. She also implored the congregants to "do all we can to move our nation forward."

President Biden made a campaign stop before bowing out of the race at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. It is the same church where a White supremacist gunman opened fire on Black congregants in 2015. (Getty Images)

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"As the Gospel of Luke tells us, faith has the power to shine a light on those living in darkness and to guide our feet in the path of peace. In moments such as this, faith guides us forward. Faith in the promise of America: freedom, opportunity and justice – not for some, but for all."