Add Ben Gibbard to the ever-growing list of musicians and celebrities who are speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage.
The lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service penned a poignant blog for The Daily Beast in which he shared anecdotes about growing up with his younger sister, who is a lesbian, while stressing his fundraising support for Referendum 74 (R-74), which would approve the February 2012 bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in his home state of Washington.
Gibbard, 36, noted that his parents required what he describes as "readjusting" when his sister announced plans to tie the knot with her female partner in 2009. He recalled:
"At some point over the course of the evening, I remember talking to my dad and he told me, “This is more wonderful than anything I could have expected for my daughter...This is it.” My sister found this amazing human being and it was the same joy, the same love, and the same experience as any straight wedding I’d ever been to. For me, it was much more emotional because it was my sister—and also just being there and seeing my parents overwhelmed with pride and joy."
He then added:
"The fight for marriage equality bears many similarities to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. We can now look back at a generation of people who are parents and grandparents who were not in support of this, and now have to look their children and grandchildren in the eye and explain why they weren’t for equal rights for all. This is a conversation that’s going to have to happen for people who currently oppose marriage equality."
Gibbard now joins music stars like Carrie Underwood, Lady Gaga and indie pop trio fun., all of whom have expressed their support for same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights. Meanwhile, Amazon, Expedia and Starbucks are just three of the major corporations to endorse the marriage equality initiative in Washington state.
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