Table of Contents
What laws did Martin Luther King disobey?
Southern police arrested civil rights protesters—including, on multiple occasions, King—for violating practically every criminal code provision: disturbing the peace, marching without a permit, violating picketing or boycott laws, trespassing, engaging in criminal libel and conspiracy.
What types of law does MLK discuss?
“There are two types of laws, those that are just and those that are unjust. A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law… Any law that uplifts the human personality is just.
Is it moral to disobey unjust laws?
“One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
What is an unjust law according to King?
How, according to King, does one distinguish between a just law and an unjust law? “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of Harmony with the moral law.
What are two kinds of laws?
There are two types of law – civil and criminal.
What are the 4 steps of nonviolent action according to King?
In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham.
What is the difference between just and unjust laws according to King?
A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.
What did Martin Luther King Jr say about the law?
The answer “is found in the fact that there are two kinds of laws: just laws … and unjust laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws,” King said, “but conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
Do you have a moral responsibility to obey the law?
The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
How can King equate the law with morality?
A just law, King wrote, “squares with the moral law . . . . An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” Wait a minute, this language sounds strange to our ears. How can King equate the law with morality?
Are there moral laws that are universally applicable?
The moral laws that are discovered from such observation are not arbitrary, but are universally applicable and evident to all reasonable people. This moral law, discovered in the nature of who we are, is called natural law.