Judas Priest’s Rob Halford Weighs in on Kim Davis
For those of you who might not know, Kim Davis is a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, even though she works for the government and they told her she had to, because she believed it was an abomination in the eyes of God. Remember, she’s the woman who Johan Hegg told to go live in a cave? Yeah, her.
In a recent interview, Rob Halford, frontman of Judas Priest and the most notable openly gay man in metal, spoke his mind on the situation. And given how justifiably cruel and insulting he could’ve been to Davis, it’s nice to see Rob was a class act about the whole thing:
“First of all, you know, it’s been very interesting to watch all of that going on, ’cause I’ve been here in America while all that came about. And firstly, I just love freedom and democracy and freedom of speech and everybody being able to say what they feel. Having said that, when you are employed in a situation that comes with basic, accepted ground rules and you try to kind of manipulate them to your perception so that it interferes with your job and interferes with other people’s lives, then I take [exception to that].”
“But, look, again, from my perspective 64 years later, living this long, it is just… It’s simple, man: just give each other the respect and equality that everybody deserves on this planet, no matter where you’re from. So all this business about gay, straight, bi, black, white, Jew, Catholic… it’s all these ridiculous labels. We’re all people. We all need to just try and find a way to love each other and accept each other and try and make the world a better place. Amen.”
Fuck yes. To review, Kim Davis says you’ll burn in Hell for being gay and therefore shouldn’t be allowed the same rights as every other American. The spike-clad gay British metal frontman loves democracy, hates bullshit labels, and wants us to be excellent to each other. Gotta love it.
Rob goes on to make coming out of the closet and being happy with yourself sound like the most metal thing in the world:
“When you make that choice of stepping out and facing the issue of disclosure, you do create this kind of self-imposed negative fear. It’s unfortunate it still happens today. ‘Do I step out and say I’m a gay guy?’ But you have got to do it and live your life on your terms and no one else’s terms. Don’t say you can’t do this and you are worried about people being offended. If they push you away, then they push you away. Grab life by the horns and tell them, ‘Take me for what I am and who I am and if you don’t like it, that’s your thing. Not my thing.’”
Amen.
I said it before in the Johan Hegg piece, and I’m sure I’ll say it again: Kim Davis is a piece of shit. She’s un-American. I’m sure there are plenty of soldiers out there who don’t think their God would appreciate the things they have to do in the line of duty, but they chose to work for the government and therefore don’t get to decide which battles they fight. If you work for the state, your church doesn’t matter. Do your fucking job. You don’t like it? Go to Russia.
Anyway, a feather in Halford’s cap and a real black eye for Pizza the Hutt up there. May she burn in the Hell she’s so intent on creating.
[via]
