NATION : King’s Son Retracts Gay Remark

Martin Luther King III apologized today for saying “something may be wrong” with homosexuals--which sparked anger among gay rights leaders.

King, the son of the late civil rights leader, said the legacy of his father’s life was “the struggle to free this country of bigotry and discrimination.” In that light, he said, he needs to examine his own feelings about the problems faced by gays and lesbians.

King, a Fulton County commissioner, enraged gays Tuesday when he told middle school students in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., that homosexuals have a problem.

“Now something may be wrong in the makeup of that individual if they happen to be that way,” he said. “Any man that has a desire to be with another man has a problem, in my opinion. And that applies to any woman who has a desire to be with another woman.”

But today he said the statements were “uninformed and insensitive.”