Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Gay Marriage Argument

(This is an article I wrote for an English class this semester on Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail". We were asked to write our own treatment of the letter, so it was an open topic. I thought I might share it with everybody.)


“…where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”


“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

- Dr. King

I have often felt that if there is one monument of integrity that can be evoked to convince the people of this country to vote in favor of equal gay rights, it is Dr. King. Although Dr. King never mentioned in his writings where he stood on the issue of homosexuality, it is his message of universal brotherhood that I wish to reflect on. My belief strengthened when I read the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and I found resonance with the current approach towards gay rights issues and the approach towards black rights in the sixties.




(Above, video of Dr. King's I have a Dream speech, one of the most emotionally stirring speeches I have heard.)


Dr. King eloquently sums it up by writing “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” The thin veiled apathy towards the gay rights issue is very similar.


Today one cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender (my emphasis here not being man over woman but transgendered people). Most urban people are comfortable knowing their friends, children or relatives are gay. However, the queer community is not allowed equal rights in marriage (except in Massachusetts and Connecticut) or in adoption. Openly gay people are not allowed to serve their nation. And if you have a rare blood type and are gay, you cannot donate blood that could potentially save the life of another.


Just as Dr. King felt disappointed with the white moderate back then as people more devoted to order than to justice; people who prefer a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; I feel let down by the moderate of this country too.


Their insistence that being gay is an act of choice and since we are allowed to choose freely, gays must have some rights, is very irritating. It is that denial of the real issue of discrimination that troubles me the most.


If you ask me how I feel about gay marriage I would tell you I personally didn’t care. It didn’t bother me if the State didn’t recognize or validate my love for another person and my intention to be with that person for as long as I choose it to be. But what perturbs me is that gays are being discriminated based on their sexuality. So why treat it differently than any other?


People tell me that they are up for equal rights for gays in all aspects except marriage. Their argument is marriage is a solemn act between man and woman. And I say who says that? Does the Bible say that? The Quran, the Torah or the Gita say that? If it does I say, but then you are forming laws based on religion and we know the State has no religion. Such laws cannot be held universal because no single religion is universal. If that be true, then tomorrow I could easily conjure my own religion and argue gay marriage is okay by my religion so make it legal.


People say but marriage between man and woman is a tradition that has held ground for five thousand years. And I say so has polygamy, slavery, child marriage and taboos on interracial marriage. But we don’t hold those to our bosom anymore do we? The truth is marriage itself has undergone evolution at every stage in history and equal marriage rights for gays is just another inevitable step to that evolution.






And that is why I believe totally with what Dr. King says that it cannot be left just to the courts to decide on what is just and moral. The queer community and the supporters of queer rights must rally in a non violent fashion demanding justice. We must scream at our rooftops to raise the conscience of our fellow people.


We must remind them that not very long ago this country came to a standstill and had to make a decision if it wanted to move ahead to build a progressive, harmonious nation or fall back to a divisive, hate-filled atmosphere. And it chose well. With Obama’s inauguration today, Dr. King’s bounced check seems to have finally been redeemed. I hope it will not take us another 45 years before the bank of justice of this country tells us gays, yes, now you have sufficient funds.