Radio host claims Dr Martin Luther King ‘would support’ new horrific anti-LGBT laws
A right-wing radio host has taken advantage of the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination to claim he would support extreme anti-LGBT laws.
The Governor of Mississippi this week signed a new radical ant-gay law in spite of pleas from business leaders in the state.
The new law permits people to discriminate based on sexual orientation in “any employment-related decision” and “any decision concerning the sale, rental, [or] occupancy of a dwelling” as long as it’s based on “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction” – meaning it would be explicitly legal to sack gays and evict them, as long as it’s what Jesus told you to do.
The bill also bans the state from taking any action whatsoever against a person or business “on the basis that the person has provided or declined to provide [services]” to gay couples.
A similar law in North Carolina has already cost the state hundreds of jobs as PayPal scrapped plans to move there – but one radio host claims civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King would be on his side.
Notoriously homophobic radio host Bryan Fischer of American Family Radio claimed: “Civil rights groups ought to love this thing. Remember Martin?
“Martin Luther King Jr was all about protecting rights of conscience.
“That’s what drove him… the right of conscience and protecting the right of conscience. Martin Luther King Jr would be ecstatic with this bill. He would love this bill.”
“Everyone that cares about civil rights should love this bill because it protects people of Christian faith. It protects Christians from heterophobic discrimination.”
By his laughable logic, Dr King would also be in favour of permitting discrimination against African-Americans on the grounds of ‘conscience’.
One of Dr King’s key advisers was gay activist Bayard Rustin – and Dr King stuck by him even when Rustin’s sexuality was used to smear them both.
After Dr King’s assassination in 1968, his widow Coretta Scott King carried on fighting for LGBT rights alongside civil rights, on the grounds that he would have done exactly the same.
As early as 1983, Mrs King was urging for gays and lesbians to be protected from discrimination – and she remained ahead of her time until her death in 2006.
She backed same-sex marriage in 2004, declaring it a civil rights issue, before adding that her late husband would have also been in favour.
Mrs King told gay rights activists at the time: “I’m proud to stand with all of you, as your sister, in a great new American coalition for freedom and human rights.
“With this faith and this commitment we will create the beloved community of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, where all people can live together in a spirit of trust and understanding, harmony, love and peace.”
US President Barack Obama has previously cited progress on gay rights while paying tribute to Martin Luther King – though other members of King’s wider family have come out against same-sex marriage.
