I have to nfs that I never thought Barney Miller was a show for me. A child of the '80s, I would nstantly see on the syndited afternoon TV schle, but bee of s lack of aliens, puppets, or nja turtl I never gave a moment’s thought. Of urse, that’s before I learned about the show’s subversive gay backstory. Barney Miller buted 1975 as a mid-season replacement after ABC axed a whole...
Contents:
- HOW BARNEY MILLER’S GAYS DEFEATED ABC’S NETWORK CENSORS
- 20 STRAIGHT CHARACTERS WE DIDN'T KNOW WERE OPENLY GAY IN REAL LIFE
- THAT GAY EPISO: ‘BARNEY MILLER’ GETS THE WRONG LGHS OUT OF A GAY EXTORTN PLOT
- MY LIFE AS A GAY CONGRSMAN
- THAT GAY EPISO: ‘BARNEY MILLER’ GETS THE WRONG LGHS OUT OF A GAY EXTORTN PLOT
HOW BARNEY MILLER’S GAYS DEFEATED ABC’S NETWORK CENSORS
* barny gay *
In 1987, Congrsman Barney Frank, a Democrat om Massachetts, ma history when he told the Boston Globe, “If you ask the direct qutn: ‘Are you gay? S Hoe of Reprentativ, Frank advoted for numero bills that promoted gay rights, and was the leadg -sponsor on other key legislatn cludg 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act, which overhled fancial regulatn the wake of the 2008 fancial crisis. I said, ‘Yeah, I’d like to get volved polics, but I uld probably never get elected bee I’m gay.
’ I knew I was gay om 13.
20 STRAIGHT CHARACTERS WE DIDN'T KNOW WERE OPENLY GAY IN REAL LIFE
To be gay [was at the time] to be very unpopular. Everybody who ran for the legislature was asked by the gay and lbian groups, ‘Would you support a gay rights bill, repealg the law agast sodomy and preventg job discrimatn? [I cid then] that while I would not e out publicly, but I would be very supportive of gay rights.
And to the then-lear of the gay rights movement Ameri, a guy name Steve Enan.
He said, ‘Here’s the problem—I’m tryg to get people to sponsor gay rights bills all the legislatur, and I’ve been braggg about how many straight people I have supportg the bills. Every year I fd out another one is gay.
THAT GAY EPISO: ‘BARNEY MILLER’ GETS THE WRONG LGHS OUT OF A GAY EXTORTN PLOT
In 1987, you beme the first Congrsman to choose to publicly e out as gay.
MY LIFE AS A GAY CONGRSMAN
Before I me out, was not a great secret that I was gay. Unrstandably, gay people who knew I was gog to e out were very enthed. ’ They were aaid that if I me out, my fluence would be dimished every area but gay rights.
THAT GAY EPISO: ‘BARNEY MILLER’ GETS THE WRONG LGHS OUT OF A GAY EXTORTN PLOT
And advanced my advocy of gay rights. It’s one thg for me as a ‘straight person’ to ask my lleagu to vote for gay rights when they’d say was polilly difficult. You uld not be an [openly gay] immigrant to Ameri.
I was a participant Congrs on gettg rid of laws on the books that discrimated agast gay people.