Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy,
argues in the September issue that the fight for gay marriage is part
of a broader battle for sexual rights.
“The fight for gay marriage is, in
reality, a fight for all our rights. Without it, we will turn back
the sexual revolution and return to an earlier, puritanical time,”
Hefner wrote in an editorial. “Today, in every instance of sexual
rights falling under attack, you'll find legislation forced into
place by people who practice discrimination disguised as religious
freedom. Their goal is to dehumanize everyone's sexuality and reduce
us to using sex for the sole purpose of perpetuating our species. To
that end, they will criminalize your entire sex life.”
The 86-year-old Hefner added that
conservatives “assault the rights of gays, whether by denying them
the right to marry or, as in Kansas, by attempting to empower
landlords, business owners and employers to discriminate against gays
on religious grounds.”