Reverend Fred Luter, the newly elected
president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has said he's in
disagreement with President Barack Obama on gay marriage.
Luter, the first African-American to
helm the nation's largest Protestant denomination, appeared on cabler
CNN's Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien.
“Will your agenda include
inclusiveness of gay Americans, a new civil rights issue?” he was
asked.
“No, I'm a man of the book,” Luter
responded. “I believe in the word of God. I believe in the bible.
God has specifically spoken about marriage. Marriage is between a
man and a woman. That's biblical. No president whether it's a
president in the White House, no governor, no mayor, no one can
change that. God has already established marriage between a one man
and one woman. So I would stand for that because that's what the
word of God says and that's what I believe in.”
CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien noted that
his view puts him in opposition to Obama's.
“On this particular subject, yes. I
support my president. He is my president. I pray for him and
Michelle and his daughters on a daily basis. But on this issue, the
president and I have two different opinions for sure,” he said.
(Related: Southern
Baptists reject gay marriage.)