Kluwe, Birk Tackle Opposing Sides Of Marriage Amendment
MINNEAPOIS (WCCO) -- In addition to the ad wars and lawn sign battles over the marriage amendment, a battle of NFL stars is now underway.
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe's outspoken opposition to the marriage amendment has even been mentioned on Ellen.
But this weekend, a major NFL star weighed-in in support of the amendment.
Native Minnesotan, former Viking and current Baltimore Raven's center Matt Birk wrote an editorial urging people to vote yes.
Kluwe though has wasted little time firing back, posting a new column Monday afternoon on his Pioneer Press blog.
In his blog Kluwe writes, "In this instance, Matt, I think you're wrong. This is not an attack on you as a person or your beliefs, but the argument you presented in the Star Tribune simply does not stand up to logical inspection."
Birk, for his part, not only wrote an editorial he also released a video. In the video Birk says, "Marriage is the foundation of our society and definitely something worth fighting for."
Last month, at a Minneapolis restaurant Kluwe spoke in opposition to the amendment.
"When there is this hatred and bigotry people may not realize it but it affects kids, gay kids," he said.
The amendment battle is close -- a Star Tribune poll shows amendment supporters leading 49 to 47 percent with 4 percent undecided.
With Mitt Romney trailing in national polls, and a U.S. Senate race that shows incumbent Amy Klobuchar leading Republican Kurt Bills by almost 30 points -- political analyst Larry Jacobs believes Birk's advocacy will provide incentive to disheartened Republicans to go vote.
"Matt Birk coming forward and all the attention he is garnering could be what saves traditional marriage supporters in passing the amendment," Jacobs said.
An important thing to remember is, if you skip the amendment on the ballot, it counts as a no vote.
This football battle is clearly leading to even more awareness of the amendment and that likely means fewer people will skip it. Jacobs said that is likely to help supporters of the amendment.
