CAAP: MLK would oppose same-sex mariage.

**ShaunN** · 05-25-2012, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by sk716

It seems to me, that much of what King himself said over his lifetime indicated that he supported equality for all. Not just Christian heterosexuals.

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.”

"I solemnly pledge to do my utmost to uphold the fair name of the Jews -- because bigotry in any form is an affront to us all."

"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. "

"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. "

"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. "

Even if in 1968 MLK Jr didn't outright say he was for Gay Rights, it wasn't really discussed back then, he was very clear about equality for all. He may not have even supported the possibility personally, but he knew the importance of protecting the civil liberties of all.

I tend to disagree with this. Believing in "equality for all" in the 1960s would mean something very different. At that time, homosexuality was still largely regarded as a mental disorder and a sexual perversion. There is really little reason to think that King would have seen it as anything other than this, as far as I can tell.

Again, I think it's really important to recognize that changing values are often due to social, economic and political forces. What is regarded as obvious today would not have been obvious just a few decades ago, in the case of many moral issues. This is particularly true of issues like gay marriage. There are some of us for whom this was never an issue, but it is telling that, even today, there are only seven or eight countries in the world that allow it. The morality around this issues is still evolving and is very generational. Again, there is nothing wrong in realizing that even people we admire were shaped, to some degree, by the ideas and influences of their time. While we cannot know what King would have thought on this issue, my sense is that he probably would have been opposed to gay marriage and he would not have seen it as an issue of civil rights. If this is true, it does not detract from him, it just makes him human.

**sk716** · 05-26-2012, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by ShaunN

I tend to disagree with this. Believing in "equality for all" in the 1960s would mean something very different. At that time, homosexuality was still largely regarded as a mental disorder and a sexual perversion. There is really little reason to think that King would have seen it as anything other than this, as far as I can tell.

Again, I think it's really important to recognize that changing values are often due to social, economic and political forces. What is regarded as obvious today would not have been obvious just a few decades ago, in the case of many moral issues. This is particularly true of issues like gay marriage. There are some of us for whom this was never an issue, but it is telling that, even today, there are only seven or eight countries in the world that allow it. The morality around this issues is still evolving and is very generational. Again, there is nothing wrong in realizing that even people we admire were shaped, to some degree, by the ideas and influences of their time. While we cannot know what King would have thought on this issue, my sense is that he probably would have been opposed to gay marriage and he would not have seen it as an issue of civil rights. If this is true, it does not detract from him, it just makes him human.

King suffered from severe depression and attempted suicide at least once. I seriously doubt he was going to treat people suffering from mental illness as pariahs.