Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe
has offered to debate Minnesota State Rep. Mary Franson on gay
marriage.
Kluwe has become an outspoken supporter
of marriage equality and an ardent opponent of a proposed amendment
to the Minnesota Constitution defining marriage as a heterosexual
union.
Kluwe, who is raising two children with
his wife Isabel, has recorded several ads for Minnesotans for
Equality, a group working to defeat the marriage ban. In one, he
describes the measure as anti-American and anti-freedom.
He
also came to the aid of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon
Ayanbadejo, whose gay marriage advocacy had come under attack
from Maryland Delegate Emmett C. Burns Jr.
Recently, Franson, a Republican,
labeled Kluwe an opponent of traditional values.
“It's hilariously ironic that Rep.
Mary Franson claims I'm undermining 'traditional values,'” Kluwe
tweeted to his more than 113,500 followers. “How's the right to
vote treatin' ya, Mary?”
He also offered to debate any lawmaker
on the issue: “If any MN politician would like to logically debate
the same-sex marriage issue (ala The Federalist Papers), please feel
free to contact me.”