Hugh Hefner Backs Gay Marriage in Playboy Editorial

Hugh Hefner has injected himself into a new generation's battle for sexual freedom.

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The Playboy founder voices his support for gay marriage and separation of church and state in an op-ed in the magazine's September issue, writing, "The fight for gay marriage is, in reality, a fight for all of our rights. Without it, we will turn back the sexual revolution and return to an earlier, puritanical time."

Hefner continues, slamming conservatives for discriminating against gays not only in marriage, but in housing and employment practices, as well.

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“Today, in every instance of sexual rights falling under attack, you’ll find legislation forced into place by people who practice discrimination disguised as religious freedom," he writes, adding that those passing such laws are working to "criminalize your sex life."

Showing awareness of various controversial state laws, the 86-year old ties the hot topic of abortion rights to gay rights, as well.

“In Arizona, under a proposal bill women who hoped to have their health insurer cover birth control would have been forced to provide their employer with proof they were taking the pill for a medical condition — not just for the purpose of avoiding pregnancy," he notes. "A new Kansas law allows a pharmacist to refuse to sell someone contraception on the grounds that such a sale could violate the pharmacist’s religious beliefs. Similar laws already exist in Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota."

In April, Hefner charged that conservatives had launched a "war against sex," also hitting Democrats who he feels have been too socially conservative.

"If these zealots have their way, our hard-won sexual liberation — women’s rights, reproductive rights and rights to privacy — lie in peril,” he wrote.