when it endorsed same-sex marriage. That move has now led some local officers around the country to resign — including the group's most outspoken critic of gay marriage.

The NAACP board says it stands by its resolution calling for marriage equality. But as the nation's oldest civil rights group prepares for its national convention in July, some in the ranks say the resolution caught them by surprise, and that such an important decision deserved open debate.

When the NAACP leadership approved a resolution supporting marriage equality on May 21, the item wasn't even on the formal agenda. But Chairwoman Roslyn Brock says the national board of directors' conversation eventually turned to what they deemed a relevant civil rights issue.

"Clearly, this is an evolving conversation," Brock says. "And I believe thatapplause. "The deviant behavior is not the same thing as being denied where one may sit on a bus."

Ratliff also said it was an insult for the gay community to try to align itself with the African-American struggle.

"Gay community: Stop hijacking the civil rights movement," he said.

In a recent interview with NPR, Ratliff said he would pray about whether to stay in the organization. This week, he resigned his post as a member of the NAACP national board, and as leader of the organization in Iowa and Nebraska.

"Certainly, there will be individuals who are obviously in support of this, and they will come along — and there will be new individuals who will join the NAACP," he says. "But historically, there is a faith base, a religious base