The venerable NAACP California chapter has publicly lent its support to an upcoming same-sex civil partnership bill, marking a first for the civil rights group for whom this is a hotly contentious issue.

Members of the California State Conference of the NAACP voted by a slim majority to lend their significant political weight to the pending Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB 19).

The conference took place in October but the decision to support AB 19 was made public following its recent ratification by the NAACP’s executive board.

AB 19, spearheaded by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would effectively amend the California Family Code to read that the state of California recognizes marriage as being between two persons, rather than specifically a man and a woman.

This would afford full marriage equality to the GLBT community, which currently has access to state marriage rights through the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act.

Douglas A. Oden, president of the San Diego Chapter of the NAACP, welcomed the move but aired concerns that church support for the organization may be impaired by the decision.

“Of course we’ll follow the edicts of our state conference, if that’s what the state has endorsed [but] the NAACP has a large faith-based constituency and a lot of people in the religious community take a different view of same-sex marriage, take a more biblical view of it … it could erode some of their support [for the NAACP], although we have more in common than this one issue,” he said.

California NAACP President Alice A. Huffman, however, stressed that religion was not a factor in this debate, pointing to the separation of church and state.

She reminded members that AB 19 does not require a religious institution or figurehead to perform marriage ceremonies, and simply makes marriage possible for same-sex couples.

“It is very important for the NAACP to live true to its mission and openly align itself to any group that’s being suppressed and working within the law … and to have the courage to speak out for a people who may not be so popular, as people had done for our cause when we were not so popular,” she told the Gay & Lesbian Times.

The NAACP has worked tirelessly for nearly a century to “ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights,” she added, and has worked for the abolition of racial hatred and discrimination. Through support for this bill, she said, the organization has recognized same-sex marriage as a modern civil rights struggle.

Oden highlighted differences between the two causes, as viewed within the NAACP organization.

“Many folks would say you can always tell if a person is black,” he said. “You can’t necessarily tell if a person is gay or lesbian. A lot of folks look at gay and lesbian as more of a choice, as opposed to skin color, which is no choice. I think it’s very courageous of the NAACP to make this step … We’re just trying to be consistent. How can you be for civil rights in one instance and then support discrimination of a particular group?”

“Equal protection under the law makes this [same-sex marriage] a civil rights struggle. Inequality is universal,” Huffman clarified.

Oden added: “Many of us in the NAACP believe that people of the same sex, if they are committed to each other, should have the rights of other couples. I think in this day and age, if two people love each other, that should be applauded; we shouldn’t try to split folks up just because of their sexual orientation.”

A letter of support has been sent from the NAACP to Assemblymember Leno, author of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, as well as to the Assembly committee in which AB 19 is under consideration.