The fight to protect traditional marriage gained momentum yesterday during a press conference in Washington D.C. when the Arlington Group – a diverse partnership of state and national pro-family organizations – announced a new ally, the Coalition of African American Pastors.

Several of representatives from leading pro-family groups spoke during the press conference, including Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation.

Bauer said the position declared by the African American pastors reflected the majority of the nation’s African American community.

"The polling data shows that African Americans in this country overwhelmingly reject same-sex marriage," he said, "and the African American pastors were very strong in making that point."

Rev. William Owens heads the Coalition of African American Pastors, which also include Dr. Leonard Lovett, Pastor Charles Lewis Jackson and Bishop Felton Smith as members.

Despite many homosexuals making parallels between the push for same-sex marriages and the civil rights movement, the black pastors are firmly rejecting the notion.

"We firmly state that marriage between the same sexes is not a civil rights issue," said Owens. "Marriage between the same sexes is wrong."

Heavyweight evangelical pro-family groups part of the Arlington Group such as Focus on the Family, FRC, and Prison Fellowship Ministries have already given an influential voice to the passing of the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA). Perkins is hoping the new alliance will rally more support for the FMA which will define marriage to be between one man and one woman.

“This new alliance in the fight to protect marriage is going to be vital to our success in passing the Federal Marriage Amendment in Congress," said Perkins.

The Rev. Stefan McGlover, another coalition member, agreed, calling the battle for marriage one of the most important issues of our time.

"What kind of inheritance will we leave our children? Where is the foundation for this country?" he asked. "If we wait as we waited when prayer was taken out of the schools, we'll be at the 11th hour, fighting something that we know we need to be fighting now."