Peregrines?

The impact of President Obama's decision to come out in favor of gay marriage is just starting to be assessed. As a CNN story noted by Mediaite shows, it is a mixed bag at this point with some black pastors still supporting the president and others saying they will now stay home. I think it is still too early to tell the scope since we still have six months until the election.

One interesting thing about that Mediate recap is the use of the word peregrines in the first paragraph:

President Obama’s headline-grabbing flip-flop on gay marriage may cost him dearly in the more religious parts of the black community, reports CNN today, as pastors tell their congregations the president is wrong in stepping in. In a report on the divide over social issues in the black community, Athena Jones speakers[sic] to Rev. Dr. Emmett Burns, who insists that, while he and his peregrines won’t support Mitt Romney, they have no interest in going to the polls. 

What's with the "...he and his peregrines" there? I'm familiar with the meaning of peregrine as wandering or traveling, but how does it apply to Rev. Burns and his congregation? Can anybody explain that to me? Because I'm not getting it.