In addition to its initial response to the issue of mandatory retirement, Gray Panthers have challenged other ageist laws and stereotypes and engaged in anti-war activism, Medicare and Social Security preservation, inter-generational housing, LGBT rights advocacy, environmentalism, the fair treatment of people in nursing homes, and the promotion of single-payer health care.
What really sparked her determination to form an activist organization was when she found herself a victim of the lack of rights for older persons in 1970, forced to retire from a job she loved in the Presbyterian Church.
During this period, the main issues of the Gray Panthers included forced retirement, ageist stereotypes, cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and world peace.
And, of course, many of Maggie Kuhn's quotes—including,”Old age is not a disease, it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses”—were used as weapons against ageist stereotypes.
[5] While the Gray Panthers wanted to counteract the stereotypes that older persons were weak, disabled, and incapable of doing much physical labor, the organization still cared deeply for people who were frail.
The organization's work in being anti-war did not stop with Vietnam—the Panthers were opponents of several of President Reagan's plans, such as his “Star Wars” and increased foreign intervention in Central America.
On these issues, the organization continued to succeed in preserving Medicare and Social Security, though the Clinton Administration's health care proposal in 1993-94 fell short of what the Gray Panthers wanted.
[2] In the present day, the Gray Panthers continue to be at the forefront of advocacy against ageism and for social justice at the local, national, and international levels.