Vikings punter Chris Kluwe has leveled another broadside at supporters of the same-sex marriage ban on November’s ballot.
He writes today on his Pioneer Press blog:
I won’t sugercoat it, won’t hide it in fancy words, won’t wrap it in a swaddling of morality and fear; if you vote to restrict the rights of another person, you are trying to make them your slave. You are telling them that the very birthright that makes us human, the right to free will and choice, the right to happiness and freedom, no longer applies. You are flat out stating that a person is no longer a human being, that YOU should decide what’s best with no care for independent thought, that YOU alone know the only way to do things.
I call this oppression. I call it tyranny. I call it cruel and unjust and undeserving of consideration by anyone who would live free of shackles. America, the America I was brought up in, the America I want my children to live in, is a land of inclusion, not exclusion. “Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free”. There’s no addendum to the Statue of Liberty that says “But hey, fags, get the JACKBOOT TO BACKSIDE out. Blacks, we don’t want you either. Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, don’t even think about it.” This country was built on the idea that everyone is equal under the law, everyone deserves the same rights and respect to free will, everyone can pursue happiness. I will happily lay down my life to protect your right to believe whatever you want, but when your actions are oppressive, we’re gonna have some problems, because now you’ve crossed the line dividing your free will from someone else’s. There is only one thing I will not include in my life, and that is an action that tolerates discrimination.