Gay rights advocate Coretta King dies

Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ News(Air Date: January 31, 2006)

Anchor:
Coretta Scott King -- the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. and an advocate for gay rights -- died Tuesday morning.

Reporter:
Human rights activists around the world are mourning the loss of Coretta Scott King, who died Tuesday at her home in Atlanta. In particular, advocates for gay rights were hit hard by the news, knowing they had lost a powerful supporter.

National Stonewall Democrats director Eric Stern said "Standing behind a great movement was a grand woman who shouldered the hopes of our American dream." And National Gay and Lesbian Task Force director Matt Foreman said “Our community has lost a dear and courageous friend, someone who was there for us when virtually no one else was"

King was an active and prominent figure in the struggle for gay rights. In 2003, she invited the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to speak at the 40th anniversary of the march on Washington, and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speach. In 2004, she spoke out against the proposed federal marriage amendment. Despite the objections of some black pastors, King fought hard for civil rights of all people, including gays and lesbians.

Speaking in 1998, she said "I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. ... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'"

Coretta Scott King was 78 years old.

Aaron McQuade, Sirius OutQ News ...