Carrie Underwood Gay Marriage Support Sparks Heated Debate

When a country star comes out in support of gay marriage, it certainly makes a lot more headlines than when any Hollywood star does the same. Case in point: this week's revelation by Carrie Underwood that she believes "we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love." The country superstar made the bold statement in an interview with London newspaper The Independent, expressing sympathy for those who are not legally allowed to marry because of their sexual orientation.

The Boot ran highlights from Carrie's Independent interview on Monday, and it's been our top story all week, especially on our Twitter and Facebook pages, where we have received both favorable and irate commentary. Many of you are proud of the songbird for publicly taking what is a brave stance, given that many of her fans are strongly opposed to gay marriage. On the flipside, others are now vowing to never buy her music again, and even questioning the "Jesus Take the Wheel" singer's Christianity.

We've compiled some of the most passionate comments from both sides of the fence below.

"Well now I know why I don't have any Carrie cds in my collection. Just like Chely Wright, this will surely hurt Carries career." -- Deborah

"Good for Carrie. Love her even more now and this will NOT ruin her career one bit!" -- Becky

"I'm very disappointed in Carrie. I think she can (and already is) a great ambassador for country music, I think she'll get a lot of criticism here ... The Bible says what is says, and you can either follow it or not. It is explicit in the Bible that men do not lie down with men and women the same ... God will judge Carrie, not me." -- jlvowell

"And God will judge you for judging others ... who are also his creations, and for choosing to only follow the passages in the bible that support your bigotry." -- dbcoll

"Equal rights...yea sure!!! Carrie Underwood read the bible.. Honey!! The bible says.. Adam & Eve... Not Adam & Evan" -- Carol

"It's good to see a Christian actually practicing the love of Christ. Thank you." -- Jason

"If GOD says it makes Him sick.......then to all Christians alike....it should make them sick to their stomachs as well." -- Neal

"Carrie is just one of many people who understand that love, compassion and support is what Christ came to earth to preach. Unless people want to start living their entire lives based on laws of the land thousands of years ago, you are going to have to accept that gay people are just like everybody else. And Christ will be accepting them into heaven. The only question is, what will you have to say to him when you get there?" -- marshlmusc



"Well that changes how I look at Carrie now!!! Not reading same BIBLE I read." -- Judy

"Thank you for showing the world what true Christian love is by supporting glbt rights. Your faith and morals continue to impress me. Thank you for living the love of Christ. May God's love be with you always." -- Jaime

"Carrie just shot down her country music career in support of sin. If the Dixie Chicks suffered, Carrie will suffer far more." -- Rob

"Good for Carrie for speaking her mind, and for not promoting hate. What is so wrong about saying that everyone should learn how to get along, and that it isn't her place to judge anyone? She's absolutely right about everything she said - God taught us to love one another, and it's up to him to do the judging. There is nothing wrong with what she said, and anyone who puts her down is an ignorant fool. And her comments should NEVER be compared to what the Dixie Chicks did, because they bashed the President of our country. There is a difference. Learn to love and be more open-minded, people. It will set you free." -- AT

"A real Christian does not harbor hate for anyone but chooses to abide by GOD'S "rules" in which he lays out for us in His book and clearly explains why homosexuality is forbidden, so for someone to claim they are a true Christian and truly lives for the Lord and then turn around and claim they are in favor of gay marriage is either trying to appeal to the majority of people who support it in order to gain favor with them or they plainly have missed God's message in His word." -- Kimmie

"Good for her. I'm sure at one point or another the majority of people who say gay marriage is wrong "because the bible says so" have done something that the bible says not to do. You shouldn't get to pick and choose what parts of the bible work for you and then tell others they can't do the same. Unless you are part of the small percentage of people that follow the bible in its entirety, you are a hypocrite." -- User

"Sorry can't purchase your CD until you get your mind out of the liberal gutter trash of Hollywood." -- Shelley

"They should have the same right to be as miserable as all of us other people that are married!" -- Joe