Minnesota Lynx star Seimone Augustus is
hoping to marry her girlfriend in Minnesota.
The 28-year-old Augustus, who earned
MVP honors while leading the Lynx to the 2011 WNBA championship, is
speaking out on a proposed constitutional amendment which would
define marriage as a heterosexual union in Minnesota.
Augustus' May proposal to her longtime
girlfriend LaTaya Varner also marked her first public statements on
her sexual orientation.
“I felt like it was the perfect time
for me, being on a platform where I can make a change with my voice
and my situation,” she told the AP. “Maybe inspire someone else
to come out and be comfortable with themselves. Or maybe someone
else's parents will see my parents saying that it's OK to be with
your child and love your child unconditionally regardless of your
sexual preference.”
“I told her it's a very huge step,”
Varner said. “Not everybody can do it. … It's a major move when
anybody can take those next steps.”
The couple said they wish they could
marry in Minnesota but are planning a May wedding in nearby Iowa.
Augustus added that defeat of the amendment would give her hope that
someday she could marry in her adopted state.
“I'm hoping [marriage equality]
passes 'cause then we're able to have a nice wedding here and
actually be able to legally do it here instead of having to go a few
hours away to Iowa or somewhere like that to have it done. You want
to be able to do it in a city that for one embraced me and has been
my second home for the last six or seven years; and is her home.
This is where she's from. To be able to share a special moment in
Minnesota history.”
“I just never understood why someone
else's love life and who they love and who they choose to be with
affects so many other people's lives,” she said. “Is it a scare
of, 'Gay people are going to be running around and everyone's going
to turn gay?'”
“I never understood the whole point
of opposing or hating someone else's happiness.”