The Gray Panthers became known for advocating nursing home reform and fighting ageism, claiming that "old people and women constitute America's biggest untapped and undervalued human energy source."

She dedicated her life to fighting for human rights, social and economic justice, global peace, integration, and an understanding of mental health issues.

In spite of this, she continued to advocate a progressive stance on issues such as desegregation, urban housing, McCarthyism, the Cold War, and nuclear arms.

[9][10][11] While tradition confined most seminarians to fieldwork within churches, Kuhn declared that none of her students would pass unless they went out and found poverty within the local community.

Reuben Gums, a WPIX-TV producer in New York City, who, after hearing Kuhn advocate for militancy among older adults, proposed the more impactful name.

'[16]Seeing all issues of injustice as inevitably linked, the Gray Panthers refused to restrict themselves to elder rights activism, but focused also on peace, presidential elections, poverty, and civil liberties.

After an elderly woman was murdered and robbed of $309 after cashing a check, Kuhn enlisted the help of Ralph Nader who set up a meeting with the president of the First Pennsylvania Bank.

The Gray Panthers also combated the then-popular "disengagement theory," which argues that old age involves a necessary separation from society as a prelude to death.

[18] She also took a stance on Social Security, arguing that politicians had created an intergenerational war over federal funds in order to divert public attention from the real budgetary issues: overspending on the military and extravagant tax breaks for the rich.

In Maggie Kuhn on Aging, she described the structural reforms needed to address these problems with elder housing, mandatory retirement, and social and economic inequities.

She shared that home with younger adults, who received a break on rent in exchange for their help with chores and their companionship.