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Parents of gay soldier crusade against Minnesota gay marriage ban

Parents of gay soldier crusade against Minnesota gay marriage ban

From CNN comes this story of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, 31, a U.S. Army soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this year — his parents have taken up the cause of gay rights, and are fighting against the proposed anti-gay marriage amendment in Minnesota.

Family photo
Andrew Wilfahrt

This was the boy who told them he was gay at 16 after being confronted with exorbitant bills from Internet chat rooms. Who lobbied for gay rights in his high school and escaped the fists of football players when hockey players came to his rescue. Who had the courage to wear pink and green even after his car was spray-painted with “Go Home Fag!”

At 29, he sat his mom and dad down at the kitchen table and told them his life was missing camaraderie, brotherhood. “I’m joining the Army,” he said.

Then, on February 27, 2011, at the same oak table where Andrew said he was joining up, the Wilfahrts learned their oldest child was gone.

His parents, Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt, have now become crusaders for same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

“Andrew fought for his nation in a foreign land. His parents’ war is being waged in their home state of Minnesota. To them, it’s about defending the Constitution — protecting the rights of all citizens,” reported CNN.

Watch:

In May, the Minnesota legislature voted to approve a ballot initiate aimed at amending the Minnesota constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

The ballot question — “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?” — will appear on the November 2012 ballot.

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