Country superstars Rascal Flatts urge to "Love Who You Love" ... including the gays

Chart-topping country outfit Rascal Flatts has a new album coming out, and the first single bears the encouraging title "Love Who You Love". And while the song wasn't written with gay folks in mind specifically, the band is encouraging their gay fans to take the message to heart.

When asked if the song had a message of gay-inclusion, the band said that they hope that everyone takes the song to heart. Lead singer Gary LeVox told the CMT network, "We have a lot of friends that are gay, too, and I know that this song has inspired them ... I know that coming out was tough on their parents and on them and the whole entire family. For a long time, some of them didn’t get to hear ‘I love you’ from their dads or be accepted in that way. … It’s helped a lot of our friends.”

Added guitarist Joe Don Rooney, “That’s what’s cool about our music ... You can interpret (it like) that. If you get that — it’s perfect. If you are someone who’s gay or someone who’s straight, you still feel something from the song, and that’s what we want.”

"Love Who You Love" is available as a single today on iTunes, and Unstoppable will drop (wait, do country albums "drop"?) on April 7.