Should Bert and Ernie get married?

Some objectors feel that nuptials between the puppets would introduce concepts too mature for the show's young audience. In response, the blog Talk About Equality points out that kids are exposed to married couples all the time, including the hetero couple Gordon and Susan on Sesame Street, without thinking about the couples' sex lives. Most of the backlash cites religious or moral objections to the potential pairing, or is just poorly disguised (and poorly articulated) bigotry -- an argument that kids shouldn't be exposed to gay couples. Comments like these can be found all over the initial petition and those that have cropped up to protest the initial petition. More even-keel resistance comes in the form of "They're puppets; puppets are not the outlet for this kind of activism."

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization that produces the show, stated in response to the petition that Bert and Ernie "remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation." They explain, and many fans of the show agree, that "Bert and Ernie are best friends.  They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves," not to send a message about sexual orientation. Many fans have pointed to this as their reason they oppose the proposal, and suggested that introducing new characters that are gay-identified from the start may be a better option.

The Washington Post ran a column that dismisses the petition on the basis that the characters are ill suited for this kind of activism. "Does this really need to happen?" the article asks. "You know you’re probably not enhancing anyone’s acceptance of anything or moving the debate anywhere insightful when someone gets to sensibly point out that “neither of them, as far as we know, even have genitalia, because they are puppets, for crying out loud!”