Today we still see double standards in the enforcement of laws. There has, over the years, been an organized movement to offer the same access to and rights of a legal marriage for same sex couples. Marriage laws have been called “unjust” by some, because it does not allow same sex couples to exact a legal marriage.

In California and some other states, elected officials have “disobeyed” laws by issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. In 2004, San Francisco’s Mayor Newsom justifies issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples by invoking the pledge he took upon taking office as mayor. The Mayor stated, "Upon taking the Oath of Office and becoming the Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, I swore to uphold the Constitution of the State of California. Article I, Section 7, subdivision (a) of the California Constitution provides that "[a] person may not be . . . denied equal protection of the laws." This example of "civil disobedience is just and should have been used in every US state.

Although Martin Luther King is not the author of the now well-known excerpt “…an unjust law is no law at all...” his reference to St. Thomas Aquinas’ words in his letter is regularly cited to support legal arguments, and social commentary on equality and social justice. King’s effective use of the St. Thomas Aquinas quote has caused it to be widely used for more than forty years to influence understanding and acceptance of equal protection under the law and justification for acts of civil disobedience.

The Cycle of Good and Evil

There must be evil if there is to be good.

Evil helps bring out the best in people and can impact their lives in such a way they can protect others from evil events and situations. Disease is evil. Good has come in the form of medical discoveries and treatments that have helped society. The "evil" events over the 46 years of my life have made me the person I am today. I have been able to turn "evil" situations and events into positives and have even "paid it forward", something I try to do with all that I am involved in. Pass on what I have learned during difficult and very very difficult times in my life. I also realize I am fortunate that I have the ability to do this, Not everyone is as fortunate and sometimes the "evil" continues, but eventually the cycle is broken by good. I haven't learned this through any sort of organized religion, not at all. It's life, and overtime, over a lifetime, you can see the cycle of good and evil.