Update: Lair Scott talks about the petition to change.org, the petition's host website.
A group that wanted Bert and Ernie to get married on Sesame Street has apparently lost the battle.
It’s a topic that’s lit up social media sites with thousand and thousands of comments from around the globe.
It started with an online petition and a Facebook page. The page states, “We have started a petition to Sesame Street and PBS Kids asking them to allow Bert & Ernie to get married on the show. If done tastefully, this would greatly help put an end to the bullying and suicides of LGBT youth. Sesame street should recognize that there are LGBT relationships, families, and include them in their show. Help us make a difference and teach tolerance and acceptance.”
The pages's organizer is Lair Scott, from Oak Park Illinois. Change.org, the petition's host website, quotes Scott as saying, "I started this Change.org petition because I believe we need more media representation of gay and lesbian people in children’s programming." He's later quoted in the article as stating, “I do not expect Sesame Street to actually marry Bert and Ernie, but I am glad that my petition is inspiring a broader discussion about how vital it is for children to see themselves and their families represented in media programming.”
The online petition says the purpose was to teach kids about “acceptance of humankind,” especially in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community. It's reached over 9,000 signatures.
Opponents have created their own Facebook page. It appears the vast majority of comments on that page feel that the topic of homosexuality doesn’t belong in the children’s show.
Last week, Sesame Street made a statement in the controversial topic. They told The Today Show that the puppets would not be married. “…They remain puppets and do not have sexual orientation,” the show’s creators told the Today Show.
This story received many, many comments on the NBC25 Facebook page. Here's a look at what some of our friends are saying:
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