Hip-hop mogul and Def Jamz founder
Russell Simmons said Thursday that he backs gay marriage because
everyone should fight for equal rights.
In an appearance on CNN, host Suzanne
Malveaux asked Simmons why he's so passionate about the issue.
“I think that the freedom that you
take for granted for yourself, you should extend it to everyone
else,” Simmons answered. “That's just the way that we are all
built. We should know that giving what we want to receive is a
critical part of our own happiness and our own freedom.”
“If we want to be able to get
married, then we should extend that right to others. And whatever
rights we think people should have, we should fight for them. We
think that we should have, we should fight for them for others.”
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(Related: Russell
Simmons condemns homophobia as societal sickness.)