Badpuppy Gay Today |
Monday, 26 January 1998 |
For Our Families, is the title of a new TV public service announcement featuring Betty DeGeneres--the mother of actress Ellen DeGeneres and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project. In the 30-second spot, Betty DeGeneres and a cast of children build a huge American flag out of boxes colorfully painted red, white and blue, while DeGeneres urges an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation as an important family issue. Betty DeGeneres' script for the announcement has her saying: Hello, my name is Betty DeGeneres and my kid is the greatest. You know her. She's Ellen -- and she's gay. For too long, gay Americans have suffered discrimination. As long as our sons and daughters are excluded from the basic protection of law, we must share that burden as a family. Betty DeGeneres & cast of children The DeGeneres public service spot is being professionally distributed to television stations throughout the country. For Our Families is set to begin airing in February. "At a time when there is so much to divide our families, Betty DeGeneres offers a quiet call for us to come together, overcome our differences and uphold the fundamental American values of fairness and equality," said HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch at a news conference launching the spot. "We hope this new Human Rights Campaign PSA will go a long way toward strengthening American families." Ellen's Mom, clearly, is pleased about her new TV role. Commenting on it at a public briefing she said: Since my daughter Ellen came out and honestly acknowledged her orientation, and since the Human Rights Campaign asked me to serve as National Coming Out Project spokesperson, it has been so gratifying to help families remember that finding common ground with their gay loved ones is a vitally important family value. While I've been on the road as a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson, I have been humbled by just how great a need there is for American families to come out for equal rights and stand up to the discrimination that our gay loved ones face. And it has been so deeply troubling to see that there are still too many families who reject their gay loved ones rather than valuing their honesty and working toward understanding. So as long as our gay sons and daughters face discrimination and are excluded from the basic protection of our laws, I will continue to urge all American families to come out for fairness. I hope that one day, it will not seem so exceptional that a mother would show equal concern for her gay and straight children. I see it as a simple matter of common sense, common decency and love. It is in that spirit that we are gathered here today for our families, and why I am so excited to be a part of the Human Rights Campaign's new public education message For Our Families. If we each do what we can for our families to come together, then maybe it won't be so long until all of our loved ones are treated fairly and equally -- not as gay or straight Americans, but simply as Americans. And as Americans, we know that our families must unite to end discrimination in all its forms. For whether it is based on religion, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation -- or anything else that puts our common differences ahead of common decency -- discrimination is a threat to the fabric of any civilized society and a challenge for our families to share. I am hopeful that my help with the Human Rights Campaign's new PSA "For Our Families" can make it just a little bit easier for all American families and their gay loved ones to work through their concerns -- while embracing each other on the common ground of mutual respect and love. While the Human Rights Campaign has aired public service announcements in the past, the debut of For Our Families marks HRC's first effort of such wide-reaching national scope. The organization is calling on fair-minded TV viewers to contact public service directors at their local stations and encourage the airing of the PSA. "Betty's message for our families is so important," says Birch. "As more gay Americans are coming out and being honest about who we are, more families are struggling earlier for greater understanding, and striving to overcome old myths and fears. Betty and this new PSA help to do just that. Sadly, some in this country have helped to foster division and hurt, rather than love and mutual understanding -- which are, after all, what family values are all about. Even while most forms of anti-gay discrimination are still legal, the most difficult experience for most gay and lesbian Americans is to come out within our own families." For Our Families was produced by Out There, a group of gay entertainment industry professionals who make their talents and resources available to organizations serving the gay and lesbian community. "HRC is exceedingly grateful to Out There for their incredible talent, drive and generosity," said David M. Smith, HRC's communications director and senior strategist in charge of the For Our Families public service campaign. Out There's Lesli Klainberg and Chris Cook served as producers for the spot. Klainberg's most recent film, slated to open in February, is a documentary about the late gay writer and activist Paul Monette, entitled, Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End. Cook is a motion picture and television producer whose credits include Geronimo, produced for TNT, and The January Man, for MGM. The PSA's director, Amy Goldstein, is currently developing a pilot for Fox television. |
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