Mother Jones took some time out from its Richard Nixon-Watergate wiretapping campaigns to gripe yesterday about the 18 House Democrats who have so far neglected to endorse gay marriage, and the hard-left publication focused their ire at Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA)…

Richmond is a particularly interesting case. Although he told the Hill’s Cameron Joseph that he is a “proponent of equal rights,” he did not explicitly endorse marriage equality. Meanwhile, his New Orleans district, where 76 percent of voters cast for Obama, includes one of the largest gay communities in the South and is home to the annual LGBT “Southern Decadence” festival. In a statement provided to Mother Jones, Richmond said he supported equal rights, but did not respond specifically to the question of marriage:

I am a firm proponent of equal rights and support efforts to end prejudice against all human beings. A person’s decision concerning who they commit their life to should be respected regardless of gender, race, or sexual preference. Our collective goal as Americans should be to strive to treat all people with decency and fairness.

And Mother Jones delivered a graphic to “indict” Richmond for his inattention to the issue based on how his district voted…

Of course, Obama endorsed gay marriage in early May of last year, after opposing it his entire political career.

The publication takes pains to note that Richmond, Sewell, Scott and Thompson all represent heavily black Southern districts.

Nowhere in the Mother Jones article is there any mention of the fact that the black community is more opposed to gay marriage than any other demographic group. A recent Zogby poll delivered a stunning result – namely, that by a 55-28 margin blacks reject the idea that gay rights are the same as black rights while showing only 40 percent support for gay marriage.

Call that homophobia if you want, but the fact is that the black community is generally pretty traditional in its outlook toward social issues.

Even in places where they have a Southern Decadence festival every year.

Nobody at Mother Jones wants to talk about that, obviously. It doesn’t fit the narrative. Instead, they’ll just profess ignorance as to why four Congressional opponents of gay marriage whose districts were among the most overwhelmingly Democrat in last year’s presidential election aren’t on board with gay marriage. Because it wouldn’t do to note Richmond – along with Sewell, Scott and Thompson – are more representative of the attitudes of the most heavily Democrat constituency than the rest of the “good” Democrats in Congress.