Henry Rollins has said he admires the courage of gay people.

In an op-ed published in Los Angeles alternative LA Weekly, the former punk rocker and current spoken word artist congratulated Washington state voters for upholding a gay marriage law approved by lawmakers.

“Hats off to Washington state where, recently, hundreds of same-sex couples were legally married,” Rollins wrote. “I am elated as much as I am frustrated by why this country refuses to wake up and smell the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. I feel for everyone who wanted to get married for so long and were made to feel so bad about who they are. I feel worse for all the Americans in the large number of remaining states still waiting for their turn to enjoy the freedoms and protections bestowed upon them by their very citizenship.”

Rollins, 51, predicted that in years to come “some of the brightest and most productive people entering into the adult working world will be the kids who were raised by same-sex parents.”

He added: “I appreciate and admire the day-to-day courage of the gay people I have encountered in the music world and elsewhere. I have never been put in the position of having to 'stand up' for my heterosexuality. I am on the biggest possible team and it's always the home game for me. The Westboro Baptist Church's god doesn't hate me and I have lived life with an incredible amount of mobility and a low level of fear and tribulation. On the other hand, gay in Wyoming? That's some Bruce Lee Enter the Dragon highlight-reel action.”