CNN Panel Can’t Figure Out If Gay Rights Are Civil Rights [Video]

A CNN panel discussed the debate regarding same-sex marriage, specifically asking whether or not the gay rights movement is comparable to the African-American civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. The panel agreed on the basic premise, but, the closer the gay rights movement moved to the civil rights movement, the more divided the panel became.

The Advocate reports that most of the CNN panel agreed that gay rights are tantamount to a civil rights struggle, but many argued that the 60s movement was vastly different from the struggle of today’s homosexuals.

“Are gay rights the same as civil rights?” asked CNN anchor Carol Costello.

“Absolutely,” contributor LZ Granderson replied, adding, “I don’t think that it’s equal to the civil rights movement.”

Granderson continued, “I think they’re different movements,” adding that gay rights is more of an international issue, making the comparison to 60s civil rights in American moot.

“This notion of what is civil rights is not U.S. and it’s not just tied to the civil rights movement,” he concluded.

“The question is wrong,” added CNN contributor Roland Martin. “It’s not a question – is gay rights civil rights. Is the gay rights movement the same as the black civil rights movement? That is the distinction.”

Martin continued, saying that white homosexuals in the Jim Crow south still had more rights than African Americans. He said that women, the disabled, and other minorities have enjoyed civil rights victories but that they are distinct from the 60s civil rights movement of African Americans.

“A women’s movement, a disabilities movement, a gay movement, a black movement – those are different movements, but the umbrella actually comes under civil rights,” he concluded.

Conservative activist Amy Kremer said that her party doesn’t get involved in social issues but that states and churches should determine who gets married.

Watch the segment below, via Mediaite: