Same-Sex Simpsons

Another reason to love The Simpsons: A same-sex marriage is on the horizon for a Simpsons mainstay. On Feb. 20, the Baltimore Sun reports, a regular Simpsons character will come out of the cartoon closet and be married in a same-sex ceremony. Surely, we're looking at something a bit more interesting than the coming out of Mr. Burns' dutiful sidekick, Smithers, who is all but openly gay, anyway.

"Patty Bouvier, the chain-smoking, raspy-voiced sister of Marge who has rarely dated men, seems to be the leading contender - one Web betting site, PaddyPower.com, stopped taking wagers because so much money was being placed on her," the Sun writes.

All that's known for sure (at least as of this writing) is that the character will be married by Homer, who becomes an Internet-sanctioned preacher.

The Baltimore Sun points out that The Simpsons will follow the likes of Friends, Roseanne and Northern Exposure, all of which also featured gay weddings:

"But none of those programs showed the classic wedding moment - the kiss. Fans expect a kiss on The Simpsons, partly because it's animated and can get away with more than nonanimated shows.

"'The Simpsons could make a strong political point that the networks would never dare in a sitcom,' says Larry Gross, a communications professor at the University of Southern California and author of 'Up from Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Media in America.' He says a gay wedding on the show is significant - with or without a kiss.'It's part of the peculiar status of television in American culture,' Gross says. 'It's the common ground on which we all discuss issues, whether it's race or feminism or sexuality. And the fact they're discussed in this venue is already a marker of where the culture is moving.'"

Start the grass-roots efforts now: Matt Groening for President in 2008.