So Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and Martina McBride walk into bar, and the bartender says, "Hey ladies, what'll it be today?" And the trio bounces back, "How about full equality for gays and lesbians?"

*crickets*

OK, so it doesn't make the best punchline. But it is true that several country music superstars are making bold steps to speak up for LGBT equality. The latest is Dolly Parton, who not only said she's cool with gay marriage last week, but also dropped a bit of a sucker punch in the direction of Pastor Joel Osteen, who himself went on national television a few weeks back and said that homosexuality "wasn't God's best." Parton said that if Pastor Osteen were genuinely religious, he wouldn't be judging LGBT folks.

Huh, turns out that God's best may be a bunch of country music divas.

Parton joins megastar Reba McEntire in being two of the biggest country music celebrities to publicly say they support marriage equality. McEntire gave an interview to Out Magazine earlier this year where she acknowledged that she had lots of gay friends, and could understand why they would want the same marriage rights as straight people.

"Keep an open mind.  That would be my voice. I have gay friends. I have a lot of straight friends. I don't judge them. I take them for what they are. They're my friends, and I can't defend my feelings for them, other than I like 'em," said McEntire.  "I have gay friends who have partners, and I see where they would want to get married. I understand why. So, I can't judge that."

Even Martina McBride has gotten in on some LGBT love, dishing that she's raising her kids to be tolerant, and that includes tolerance of sexual orientation. "I have three daughters, and that's what I teach them. I think we should all be tolerant of each other and embrace each others' strengths and differences and uniqueness and beauty," McBride told Out Magazine.

That makes three of the biggest country music superstars who haven't shied away from standing up for one of the biggest civil rights issues of our day -- LGBT equality. As Parton herself said, "Just love everybody for who they are."

Yup, those seven words certainly sound a lot more like God's best than the comments Pastor Osteen has now become famous for.

(Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service)