Reuters reports via The LA Times that the Sesame Workshop has closed the closet door on the recent push for long-time characters Bert & Ernie to enter into a same-sex marriage:

"The educational workshop behind the 40 year-old TV series dismissed the idea of a made-for-TV, same-sex puppet wedding in response to an online campaign and petition to have the two "Sesame Street" characters get married as a way to beat homophobia and encourage tolerance of gay people.

"...Sesame Workshop noted on Thursday that as puppets, Bert and Ernie don't have sexual preferences.

"'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.'

"In recent days, almost 9,000 people have signed a petition encouraging the wedding at http://www.change.org and/or become friends of a special "Bert and Ernie Get Married" Facebook page, sparking a lively debate on Twitter and other social media."

The petition makes the absurd assertion: "'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.'"

The petitioners apparently fail to realize that pushing the SSM agenda on an educational show geared to pre-schoolers is of itself tasteless.

You can read the whole story here.