Photo by NCinDC

Social divisions and fissures make for good headlines. After all, it’s much easier to write about group A feuding with group B than it is to have to explain that neither A nor B are neatly recognizable groups.

Today the Examiner attaches the social conflict story template to the local gay marriage debate, in doing so splashing a dramatic headline on their front page that warns: “Great Divide on Gay Marriage: D.C. Splits Along Racial, Cultural Lines.” The related article, by reporter Bill Myers, attempts to take the temperature of how well the District’s black Baptist ministers really represent the sentiments of black D.C. (There’s also a sidebar titled, “Will gay marriage cause blacks to divorce the Democratic Party?“, also written by Myers.) If you just glanced at these headlines, you’d get a sense that maybe D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was right when a few weeks ago he warned of a “civil war” if marriage equality legislation moves any further in this city.

The whole storyline seems to be more smoke than fire, though. As we noted before, the Ward 8 Democrats met and voted 21-11 to support the move to legalize same-sex marriage in D.C., throwing a wrench into Barry’s plan to be the sole barometer for his ward’s feelings on the matter. And while a 2006 poll cited by the Examiner found that the District African American population is largely against same-sex marriage, a lightly attended protest in front of the Wilson Building a few weeks ago brings into question whether opposition would translate into actual political activism. (It’s also worth noting that many of the protest’s participants were from out of town.) Myers gives voice to some of these division doubters, quoting Metro Weekly co-publisher Sean Bugg, who notes, “It’s an arguable point. But I think it’s too early to say, ‘Black D.C. thinks this or black D.C. thinks that.'”

But obviously, this issue is much more complex than that. It’s true that religious African Americans may be less likely to support gay marriage because of their beliefs, but gay activists have retooled their messaging to focus on extending the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples — thus removing some of the religious subtexts of the debate. And the African American community doesn’t really appear to be as neatly arranged against same-sex marriage as many would like to think. Many younger activists argue that the same-sex marriage debate is an extension of the civil rights battles that raged decades ago, and that African Americans should be the first to sympathize with the sting of discrimination.

The discussion over same-sex marriage in D.C. isn’t going to go away anytime soon, especially if D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At Large) lives up to his promise to introduce broader legislation later this year. In the meantime, presuming that every black person in D.C. is solidly lined up against it — or that they’ll partake in a “civil war” should same-sex marriage come to pass — does a disservice to an otherwise complex and fast-changing debate. The Examiner editors who wrote today’s tabloid-style headline are only helping to further the impression that a deep divide exists, when the evidence that that’s the case is overwhelmingly scant.