The Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling on
Maryland voters to uphold a gay marriage law approved by lawmakers.
Voters on November 6 will decide
whether the law takes effect on January 1 or is repealed.
Jackson discussed the upcoming vote in
an interview with SiriusXM OutQ's Michelangelo Signorile.
“The culture has had to expand,”
Jackson said. “For so long we thought it was a sin for blacks to
have freedom. We thought it was a sin for black and white men and
women to interrelate. We've grown in our appreciation of the fact
that we live in our faith, and our faith may live under the law. All
citizens deserve constitutional protections. You know, you have a
right not to agree with interracial marriage but no one should be
denied rights under the law.”
“They should not vote [on civil
rights],” Jackson
added. “I remember in 1964, the dealbreaker then was, 'Should
we have the right of public accommodation [for African-Americans]?'
They tried to make blacks having public accommodations a single
issue. At that time race was the dealbreaker. But we've overcome
that. I would hope that people would respect people's basic
fundamental rights. If you don't believe in it, don't engage in it.
But don't deny other people their basic civil rights.”
(Related: Majority
in Maryland support gay marriage law.)