This story originally appeared on Q Voice News.

The Democratic Party has been “cowering in the corner” when it comes to defending the trans community, former NFL player Chris Kluwe told LGBTQ+ News outlet Q Voice News.

“We’re seeing a war against trans individuals being waged by our federal government, and we, as citizens, need to be willing to step up and say this is not OK,” Kluwe said. “The Democratic Party has taken a very defensive posture on trans issues when that’s the absolute wrong thing to do. You don’t make a bully go away by cowering in the corner and say, I’ll agree with you on these little things. That just encourages the bully.

“We need to be full-throated in the attack, saying these are people who pay taxes, who serve in our military, and who are entitled to the exact same rights that every single other American is entitled to, which includes health care and the opportunity to live a prosperous life. We can’t be afraid of the right-wing fear machine. We have to take it to them, show that we’re willing to fight.”

If it sounds like Kluwe is on the campaign trail, he is.

Kluwe, the former Minnesota Vikings punter who made headlines in 2012 as one of the first NFL players to defend marriage equality, is on the Nov. 3 ballot in the general election.

He’s running for state Assembly District 72, a section of Orange County covering several coastal cities, including Huntington Beach, his hometown. For two decades, Kluwe and wife Isabel have called Surf City home, where they’ve raised two children, Ace and Remy.

Kluwe is no stranger to politics. He’s been active in local politics for many years, protesting against local book bans and speaking out regularly at Huntington Beach City Council meetings. The five-member council are self-avowed MAGA and supporters of President Donald Trump.

As an “act of civil disobedience,” Kluwe got himself arrested last year during a council meeting.

Public officials who “fold” on transgender issues, Kluwe warns, should be a red flag, foreshadowing additional harmful behavior.

“I promise you this, if a politician is willing to fold on trans issues, that means they’re willing to fold on LGB issues; they’re willing to fold on civil rights issues,” Kluwe said. “They’re willing to fold on everything because they’re not willing to stand up when it matters.”

Kluwe’s opponent in the District 72 race is Gracey Van Der Mark, a Huntington Beach council member who has supported anti-LGBTQ+ efforts by the council, including book bans and banning the Pride flag from city grounds.

The traditionally red seat is open this election. The district also has been redrawn. Kluwe and the state Democratic Party think it’s up for grabs. In the June primary, Kluwe won the most votes of the four candidates, about 44%, and beat Gracie by about 10,000 votes.

In a recent interview with Q Voice News, Kluwe, 44, talked about jumping into the race, using his privilege to help other people, and LGBTQ+ issues.

Here are excerpts from the interview.

On jumping into the race

“It’s definitely not something that I decided on a whim. I’ve been very consistent throughout my life that I’ve never, never had political aspirations or wanted to serve in political office. That’s not something I’ve ever desired,” Kluwe said. “But, looking at the state of the world, the way things are going, both on the national level as well as at the local level, here in Huntington Beach and in Southern California, I really just kind of felt that, and a lot of people were telling me, We want you to run. We want you to try to do something about this because you seem to know what you’re talking about.

“Eventually, I was just like, ‘Well, if this many people are asking me to do this, and if things are getting this bad, then you know, I feel like I kind of owe it to the country to try to fix some of these issues.”

On his candidacy

“A lot of people have said, I’m trying to help my community. Sometimes it’s true; sometimes it’s not. I would say for people who are looking at me, judge me based on my actions. That’s all we can ever really be judged on,” Kluwe said. “People can say whatever they want, but it’s their actions that define them as who they are. I’d like to think that my actions have defined me as someone who is willing to stand up and say the right thing, even when it comes at personal cost to myself.”

“It stems from my core philosophy. If someone is in trouble, I want to stand up and say, That’s not OK; I want to help this person.”

On using his privilege

“How have I benefited from the system? Is the system set up to benefit everyone equally? It’s pretty obvious at this point that the system is not set up to benefit everyone equally,” Kluwe said. “It’s set up primarily to benefit people like me who are tall, straight, white men. It does so at the expense of other people, and those of us who are tall, straight, white men who are benefiting from the system need to be willing to say, This is not right. We are getting an advantage that other people are not getting. We need to work toward true equality and true equity, so that everyone has the same chances that we had growing up.”

On LGBTQ+ issues

“Health care for trans individuals is one of the really big ones that we need to address. A lot of hospitals in California, and they’re being sued by (Attorney General Rob) Botta over this, which I really appreciate. But a lot of hospitals, because they’re scared of losing federal funding, have been complying with the federal administration and saying, Oh yeah, we’re going to stop gender affirming care for trans people,” Kluwe said.

“More recently, a bill passed that would have prevented extradition of health care providers as well as abortion providers to other states if they violated other states’ rules on providing abortions or health care for trans individuals. Gavin Newsom vetoed it. He said, I’m worried about the governor’s power of extradition. It’s like, No. Dude, you’re a fucking coward. You want to make a presidential run, and you think that this is going to come back to bite you. You were not willing to stand up for people.”

“The role that I see the state playing is essentially we need to set up an escrow account for all the federal taxes we pay. We are a net provider to the rest of the country in terms of our federal taxes,” Kluwe said. “All the taxes would go into the escrow account first. Then, if the federal government follows the law and gives us the money that was legally appropriated by Congress, we’ll pass those taxes to the federal government. But if the federal government is not following the law, and they’re trying to withhold funds by executive order or whatever bullshit they want to try, then we can say, Well, this money was legally appropriated to us. We’re going to spend these taxes on those California programs you’re withholding the money on.

“It’s basically just a pass-through account. The state would save the money before sending it to the federal government,” Kluwe said. “We’re not saying we’re not going to pay taxes. We are paying our taxes. We just don’t want our money to be stolen from us, and this goes past the idea of healthcare, right? This is also like disaster relief. This is stuff like funding for school programs. These are things that we are legally owed this money. Congress said you get this money, and Congress has the power of the purse. The president does not get to decide that. What Donald Trump is engaged in is theft. He is stealing our money. I am tired of it.”

On police accountability

“We need to fundamentally reexamine our relationship with the idea of policing in America and how that relates to its citizens. It’s become very clear at this point that a lot of police forces believe it’s an us-versus-them scenario,” Kluwe said. “That has not been helped at all by the ongoing militarization of the police and the federal government making military equipment available for police purchase. That does not help a police officer become a member of their community. When you see an MRAP rolling down the street, or a police officer carrying an assault rifle, that does not feel like a community member who is really looking out for your best interest. That feels like a soldier who is looking for some reason to use that weapon.

“I’m not saying we need to get rid of the police because there’s always going to be a need for a form of law enforcement. But the people who enforce the laws, it’s important that they are also subject to those same laws,” Kluwe said. “You cannot have people who enforce the laws be above the law itself because that just invites corruption and abuse.

“And so again, that’s an area where the Democratic Party has failed. The state of California, we can enforce those laws; they’re on the books. The attorney general can enforce those laws. Local cities can enforce those laws. They have chosen not to, because the police union is a very powerful political union,” Kluwe said.

“For the average citizen, they’re like, Why shouldn’t I trust law enforcement? They’ve never been to a protest. They’ve never been shot in the face with a pepper ball in violation of regulation. In fact, these are things where we need to say, the system isn’t working. How do we fix the system? That means you know treating our law enforcement as part of communities. We should have laws requiring that police officers have to live in the same city where they work. Like you should be part of your community. You should not be a tourist in this area who happens to carry a gun.”

On Flock cameras

“We’re America. We’re supposed to have individual liberty and freedom. It’s very strange that you hear the right wing talk all the time about less government, less intrusive government, keep government out of our lives. Oh, but we need to record you at every hour of the day. How do those concepts line up together? I’d be very interested in examining that at the state level,” Kluwe said. “One of the committees I would like to serve on is the privacy and consumer protection committee. That’s one that will definitely have a hand in shaping policy in that area. If we’re moving towards a panopticon, which it clearly looks like we are, there has to be rigorous oversight. We cannot allow these tools to be abused because it is very easy to abuse them. We’ve seen a lot of stories of departments misusing these tools.”