Petition Asks Bert And Ernie To Get Married On Sesame Street (VIDEO)

Should Bert and Ernie get married? Over 900 people think so.

A petition started by Lair Scott, exhorts the makers of Sesame Street to let the two old friends get hitched. Gay marriage became legal in New York this June, increasing the number of states in the country to do so to six.

The petition letter reads:

In this horrific age of LGBT kids taking their own lives, they need to know that they ARE BEAUTIFUL and their lives are worth living. Aside from those that are committing suicide, the bullies that facilitate these tragedies need to learn that homophobia is NOT okay. They need to know that acceptance of their fellow human beings would indeed plant a seed of peace that will reverberate throughout the world. We are not asking that Sesame Street do anything crude or disrespectful by allowing Bert & Ernie to marry. It can be done in a tasteful way. Let us teach tolerance of those that are different. Let Sesame Street and PBS Kids be a big part in saving many worthy lives.

The pair of puppets has long been rumored to be a veiled representation of a gay couple, though the Children's Television Workshop has denied that this is the case.

The petition echoes the message of the "It Gets Better" project, founded in 2010 following the suicides of a number of young gay men, including Tyler Clementi, Billy Lucas and others.

Reactions thus far have been mixed. An editorial in the New York Daily News, headlined "Folks who want a gay marriage for Bert and Ernie of 'Sesame Street' need to get over themselves," went on to say:

"Why stop there? Why not march Yogi Bear and Boo Boo down the aisle, too?... Some stages of life - for example, the years from 2 to 4 - must be walled off from the passions of adults."

Alyssa Rosenberg at Think Progress agrees, but for different reasons. If Bert and Ernie were gay, she would be all for a marriage, but Rosenberg has a problem with same-sex roommates being equated with gay couples.

"I think it’s actively unhelpful to gay and straight men alike to perpetuate the idea that all same-sex roommates, be they puppet or human, must necessarily be a gay couple," Rosenberg wrote. "Having close, affectionate friendships with another man doesn’t mean that you two are sleeping together."

Greg Kelly said on "Good Day NY" this morning that there are clear signs Bert and Ernie straight, but that he got tripped up by the picture on Bert and Ernie's wall.

"It's clearly a roommate situation," Kelly said. "They sleep in separate beds, the wardrobe, grooming."

He continued.

"However, they do have a picture of themselves on the wall, which would suggest, well, unusual behavior," Kelly said. "Not unusual, but that they… never mind."

Twitter is just starting to buzz with reactions. Many are encouraging circulating the petition, some are incredulous and others are having a laugh -- one user quipped that Batman and Robin should be first.

Since its start in 1969, Sesame Street has traditionally taken on difficult subjects in an effort to educate children, including divorce, tolerance of racial diversity, and real life disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Recently, Archie Comics introduced its first gay character, Kevin Keller, in "Veronica." The first same-sex marriage on daytime TV occurred in 2009, on the soap opera "All My Children."

WATCH Greg Kelly discuss the Bert and Ernie petition on "Good Day NY":

Clarification: This article has been modified to clarify that Kevin Kelly, not Veronica, is the first gay character in the "Veronica" series.

Comments

[dbrett480]

11:06 PM on 08/24/2011

Is this a joke? Or does the gay rights activists want to just make everything about them?

[touchstones0]

05:03 PM on 08/18/2011

no i don't think bert and ernie should get married. They should remain best friends and that is all.

[touchstones0]

04:49 PM on 08/18/2011

I have watched Bert and Ernie for many years. I watched when i was a kid and when my kids were kids. I don't think that they should make these two out to be anymore than best friends. If there are people out there that want to be with the same sex then they should keep it to themselves and not try and make everyone and everything like them. These are innocent children that should not be brought into the world of lesbians and gays. In my mind the lord intended for marriage to be between a man and a woman and anything else is a sin and should not be allowed nor shared in public.

[altheschrod]

10:49 PM on 08/17/2011

What does that mean "should Bert and Ernie get married"? Last I knew the were both men, and unless they're part of a small minority that are homosexual, why would they want to "get married"?

[AGooglyMinotaur]

11:40 AM on 08/16/2011

Bert and Ernie don't need to marry! It's not like there's anything wrong with being gay, but can't Sesame Street just introduce an actual gay character rather than do some weird revisionist history for Bert and Ernie? When I was a kid, I figured they were roommates who were terribly unlucky to have to live together. (Some Craigslist posting gone wrong, maybe, although we had no Craigslist in those days.) I never felt there was any sexual tension between them. Make a new character if you want!

[PaulInMiami]

12:41 AM on 08/15/2011

If we are talking about real people and relationships here, not just puppets, let me say this loud and clear:
True friendships between male and male are beautiful.
True friendships between female and female are also beautiful.
The dictionary defines "perversion" as "abnormal sexual instinct, desire, or activity."
There is NOTHING NORMAL NOR GAY about a man's sticking his male member in the butt of another male! (HuffPost censors, I have said nothing untrue here, nor will I!)
The desperation of those with perverted lifestyles to gain public acceptance and "tolerance" is traceable to their feelings of guilt which they seek to drown under the "gay" illusion, which is blindly swallowed by those unwilling to recognize right and wrong.

[AGooglyMinotaur]

01:32 PM on 08/16/2011

Jeez, chill out dude. Why do you care? If they love each other and make each other happy, what's your beef with it?

[Jason N]

02:36 PM on 08/16/2011

Because if it becomes socially acceptable, there won't be anything for him to grasp onto as a reason to hide his true desires. 9 times out of 10, those who scream the loudest... well you know the rest lol.

[Jason N]

02:36 PM on 08/16/2011

"There is NOTHING NORMAL NOR GAY about a man's sticking his male member in the butt of another male! "

Statistically no, but than again, nor is a man sticking his member into the butt of another female, but I guessed I missed the drive to ban sodomy for straight couples.... And your posts decrying the use of ankle sock liberally in straight porn. Further, if by normal you mean natural, you'd be dead wrong. One only needs to look at mother natures other creations for a short time to see that notion is ridiculous.

"The desperatio­n of those with perverted lifestyles to gain public acceptance and "tolerance­" is traceable to their feelings of guilt which they seek to drown under the "gay" illusion"

LMFAO!!!!

PS- Perversion in your mind could be used to define just about any sexual act, since many deviate from the norm. Is there even a norm for sex between heterosexuals? I know some guys like missionary, some like doggie, some like weird positions I can't even describe... so tell me, upon what norm are you basing these deviations?

[richdibo]

11:14 PM on 08/14/2011

To the sensuous observer, may cartoons and TV shows had gay themes. But no characters were depicted as married.

Bert and Ernie are just close friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4e8kGAmZ78

[tj101]

05:05 PM on 08/14/2011

A child is never too young to learn acceptance­.

Wise words.....thanks you llisa.

[tj101]

08:36 PM on 08/14/2011

Sounds like the bagger community believes a child is never too young to be a bigot.

Sad.

[Jennbrooklyn]

03:01 PM on 08/14/2011

Family Guy's take on Bert and Ernie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbRyo6mji4E&feature=related

[tj101]

08:38 PM on 08/14/2011

That statement reveals more about you than the LGBT community, you know...

The world is Progressing, join us or remain left behind. The choice is yours.

[rickmarkson]

12:55 PM on 08/14/2011

Thank you Sesame Street for not being manipulated or pressured into turning your childrens show into something it isn't.

[Bryon K Douglas]

09:18 AM on 08/14/2011

This is wrong. I am not a gay basher, I am very concerned. My brother was gay, and I still loved him as my brother. I do not have to agree with his life style, but it was his life. I think calling for a childs show to get into a older subject is wrong. Children that are into S/street are not of sexual age, let children be children. There are no children killing themselves that are between the ages of 2 thru 6 that are confused about their sexual orientation, because this is the target age for S/street. As children get older they will make up their minds, we as adults do not need to push our issues on them.

[Aquinnah1]

06:11 AM on 08/14/2011

Do you, Bert, take this Muppet, Ernie, to be your lawfully wedded . . . . http://www.eightfits.blogspot.com

[Dingo Bob]

10:51 PM on 08/13/2011

Why would anyone want this it works fine as is,IF IT'S NOT BROKE DONT FIX IT,

AND DONT BRAKE IT SO YOU CAN TRY TO FIX IT!

[DaydreamingTori]

06:45 PM on 08/13/2011

Rather than make puppets made out of some strange looking foam/fabric hybrid thingy, let's work on REAL issues. Bert & Ernie can't be homosexual & shouldn't be. It is offensive to reason to marry puppets who have shown children for 35+ yrs. that friendship is true, conflicted, but worth the lumps, as friendship makes us more human & more empathetic. How sad that these 900 people are pushing a ridiculous concept. Sesame Street has had Elton John, Little Richard, Ru Paul, Ellen, & many other fabulously gay HUMANS on the show. To quote my grandfather "Leave them be, g*ddamnit!!"

[MrPositive]

03:29 PM on 08/13/2011

Dear Lair Scott and the 900 people who signed the petition: Ernie and Bert are not gay. They are best friends. The makers of Sesame Street have repeatedly said this, and there is no good reason not to believe them. They were created and put on Sesame Street in order to to show children that friends can have many differences yet still be friends. It's that simple. It is extremely presumptuous of you to demand that the makers of Sesame Street force these two friends get married. They are just friends, after all. And furthermore, even if they were gay, which they are not, but even if they were, it would still be presumptuous of you to demand they get married. While it is true that forced marriage is still accepted accepted practice in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, India, Bangladesh, and some Islamic nations, it is frowned upon here in the West. .A forced marriage is one where one or both parties are coerced into a marriage against their will and under duress. Duress includes both physical and emotional pressure. Victims can suffer many forms of physical and emotional damage, including being held unlawfully captive, assaulted, and repeatedly raped. I can assure you, this would not make for good television, even on PBS.

[DaydreamingTori]

06:38 PM on 08/13/2011

Let's start a revolution, please. I get to ride into battle on an Appaloosa, though...