How to do it right

If you couldn't tell from my Jason Collins piece I'm a pretty big proponent of gay marriage, and gay rights in general.  However, I've often thought of myself as having a rather unique stance on homosexuality in given the previous sentence.

In short, I'm not a fan.

I'm a very firm believer in what the Declaration of Independence says, and it says that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

And as part of that very important line, I believe that denying people their rights to be happy is simply wrong.  That is why I am for gay marriage, even if I'm not comfortable with homosexuality.  Denying people their right to marry because you don't like it is one of the most un-American things you can do, and I think is part of the definition of tyranny.

Having said this, I know that there are people out there who disagree with the right for gays to marry, and as long as you are willing to put forth that idea without bigotry, I will respect your opinion, even though I disagree with it.  That's what a healthy discourse is supposed to be.  Unfortunately, this is an issue where people constantly use bigotry to defend their opposition to gay marriage (and gay rights in general), which as far as I'm concerned, makes their opinion invalid.

So now I bet you're wondering, "What the hell is the point of this?"  Well, here it is.

See?  Punters can be cool!

The Minnesota Vikings recently cut punter Chris Kluwe, a very active and outspoken proponent of gay rights, and it was rumored that his release was related to his pro-gay stance in every aspect of the argument.  Recently, when asked about what he thought about Kluwe's cut from the team and his own stance on homosexual marriage, Vikings all-world Running Back Adrian Peterson said this:

"It hurt me to see him leave," Peterson said.  "To each his own, [but] I'm not with it," he said. "I have relatives who are gay. I'm not biased towards them. I still treat them the same. I love 'em. But again, I'm not with that. That's not something I believe in. But to each his own," he said.

For the whole article, go here

A simple answer to a complicated question.

 Do I agree with what Peterson said?  Of course not.  But he did something rarely done in anti-gay rights movements/protests/speeches - he stated his stance without resorting to bigotry.  He admits the duality of his own opinion in that he has gay family members whom he still loves and respects, but it is not something that he is openly ok with.  Obviously I wish that he did support gay marriage, but as he said "To each his own."

There are ways to support things, and there are ways to oppose them.  I really think Peterson did a really good job of expressing his opinion without resorting to any trips down the low road.  And I commend him for that.  I respect his opinion.

Because clearly, he respects mine.