'Marriage Vow' Group Removes Slavery Reference

A socially conservative group has apologized for suggesting that African-American babies born to slaves might have been better off in a pledge it asked the Republican candidates to sign as a requirement for the group’s endorsement in the presidential race, The Washington Post reports.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., was the first GOP potential candidate to sign “The Marriage Vow,” which included a section that mourned that “the Institution of Marriage in America is in great crisis.”

A piece offered as evidence was the claim that a black person born into slavery “was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American president.”

On Saturday, in a note forwarded to reporters by the Bachmann campaign, the group, The Family Leader, apologized for the reference.

“After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued,” said Julie Summa, a spokeswoman for the Family Leader. “We sincerely apologize for any negative feelings this has caused, and have removed the language from the vow.”