Brad Pitt has always been a strong advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, but his latest move might be his most profound yet.
As The Los Angeles Times is reporting, the Academy Award-nominated actor is donating $100,000 to the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) National Marriage Fund, which is focused on supporting initiatives in four states where same-sex marriage legislation will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. Pitt's donation will be split evenly among Maine, Maryland and Washington, where ballot measures seek to legalize gay marriage, as well as Minnesota, where LGBT advocates are fighting an amendment which would effectively ban same-sex couples from tying the knot in the state's constitution.
"It's unbelievable to me that people's lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days," Pitt is quoted as saying on the HRC website. "In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington, voters will go to the polls to decide if gay and lesbian couples -- our friends and neighbors -- are worthy of the same protections as everyone else."
He then noted, "Every person's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is enshrined in our country's Declaration of Independence, but powerful, well-funded groups are flooding the airwaves with lies trying to take away those rights from certain people...and we can't stand for it."
Of course, this isn't the first time the 48-year-old superstar has spoken out in favor of marriage equality. "No state should decide who can marry and who cannot," Pitt is quoted by People magazine as saying last year. "Thanks to the tireless work of so many, someday soon this discrimination will end and every American will be able to enjoy their equal right to marriage."
At a September screening of his movie "Killing Them Softly," Pitt pointed to marriage equality once again as he lent his support to President Barack Obama. "I am an Obama supporter and I’m backing his election campaign," he told The Telegraph. "Gay marriage is inevitable. The next generation, they get it. It is just a matter of time before it becomes a reality.”
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