Chris Kluwe on the marriage equality successes last night

Writing for Slate, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe expresses his - and many people's - thoughts on the historic advances with last nights' marriage equality successes:

"I would like to thank every single person that helped defeat the same-sex marriage ban in Minnesota, as well as every person who contributed to passing marriage-equality legislation in Maryland and Maine and (likely) Washington. Together, we made a statement that America is tired of division. America is tired of discrimination, of exclusion, and of unthinking oppression—the belief that people have to live their lives according to someone else's views rather than their own free will.

"Together, we made sure that the world our children will grow up in is one step closer to tolerance, love, and equality; a world where our children can make their own choices instead of being shackled to dusty hate from the past. Together, we showed this nation that a polity functions best when it includes all of its citizens, when it celebrates their differences as part of one glorious whole, when it synthesizes a wide assortment of cultures and beliefs under the guiding principles of freedom and happiness for everyone.

"Together, we can approach the work still at hand. We can face the continuous fight for equality that every society must wage each generation. We may not know the specifics until they’re upon us, but the underlying foundation is always the same—living your own life vs. someone else making your choices for you.

"Together, we can promote free will over oppression. We can treat others the way we want to be treated, with dignity and respect. We can work together to find common ground, despite our differences, and build a stable, nurturing society. There is work yet to be done, but we passed an important milestone today. Ten, 15, 20 years from now, when our children ask us, 'What did you do when it came time to fight for someone else?,' we can tell them about Minnesota and Maryland and Maine, states where people finally said: Enough.

"Enough with the hate. Enough with the bigotry. Enough with the discrimination. We are all Americans, and we are all in this together. Without each other, we have nothing."