By Allie Martin, Jody Brown, and Bob Ditmer
Officials with the American Family Association are encouraging concerned Christians to let executives at Wendy's know they are not pleased the hamburger chain sponsoring the first romantic male homosexual kiss on prime-time TV.
On the March 13 episode of the popular NBC sitcom Will & Grace, two male characters shared an affectionate kiss on the lips, a first for the network show. Don Wildmon is chairman and founder of the American Family Association (AFA), a pro-family group that monitors the content of television programs — and reports to consumers on the advertisers that support those programs.
Wildmon is not surprised that Will & Grace decided to cross the line. “The producers of this show have said right from the beginning that they would make sure that the main homosexual character, Will Truman, has a love life,” Wildmon says. “But they've hesitated to show anything explicit for almost five years because they understood that the majority of Americans do not want to see two men kissing.”
Wildmon expects the same-sex kiss to be a precursor of things to come. “It was a quick kiss, but we have no doubt that it is the first step to a more passionate scene later in the season, whether or not it is between the same two characters,” he says.
The pro-family advocate believes it is yet another example of network television striking down taboos.
“The stated objective of the homosexual movement within Hollywood is to put homosexual and heterosexual sexuality on the same level of visibility — and Will & Grace has taken the next step in achieving that goal,” Wildmon says.
Ed Vitagliano, director of research for AFA, says while other network sitcoms have occasionally shown a same-sex male kiss, the content made it clear it was for the purpose of generating laughter, not homosexual affection. But in this case, Vitagliano says, NBC and Wendy's are both helping homosexual radicals achieve their objective.
“[T]he show has gotten some heat from homosexuals who complain that Will was never shown kissing,” he says, “and homosexuals want homosexual sexuality to be just as visible as heterosexual sexuality on television.”
Vitagliano says concerned parents can take action by logging on to OneMillionMoms.com or OneMillionDads.com, where they can find out how they can encourage Wendy's executives to stop supporting Will & Grace's promotion of homosexual conduct.
Other co-sponsors of the March 13 episode included Chevrolet and Old Navy.
Also, Soap on the Slippery Slope
Meanwhile, it appears a well-known daytime soap opera is about to hit a new low in moral standards. The producers of All My Children are promising a lesbian love scene during the May sweeps.
Family News In Focus acknowledges that soap operas have never been known for reinforcing good morality, but reports that this May they will be sinking to a “new low” when two female characters wind up in bed.
Peter LaBarbera of the Culture and Family Institute told FNIF that the scene is the result of relentless pressure on the network to portray homosexuality as normal.
“The homosexual activists know that they have to desensitize people to their unnatural behavior — and that's exactly what this is,” LaBarbera says. “The more people see two men kissing, or two women kissing or in bed in a sex scene, the more they get used to it.”
In a recent poll, a majority of viewers told ABC they were fine with the soap opera portraying a lesbian love affair.
(These articles courtesy of Agape Press.)