As a child I used to watch Star Trek, and Mr. Sulu was one of my heroes.Who would have thought that 30 years later George Takei would be a vigorous gay rights activist, married to a gay man, and advocating for our gay and lesbian youth?
Takei is lashing out at the Tennessee legislature for their bill effecting thousands of school children across the state.
George says,
“A bill now pending in Tennessee would prohibit teachers in that state from discussing homosexuality in the classroom. The so-called "don't say gay" law is premised on the misguided belief that, by not talking about gay people, they can simply make them disappear”.
George took to YouTube yesterday to tell Tennessee and all the LGBT youth and teachers who would be affected by this law that he was there for them.
In fact, Takei is lending his name to the cause saying any time you need to say the word "gay," you can simply say "Takei."
Get it?
We’re very impressed with George’s tenacity on this issue and his video response to Tennessee below is hilarious.
In addition to his video being shown on the Rachel Maddow show yesterday, George took to twitter to help push the cause saying,
“Thx to the thousands behind me on this campaign! Oh Myyy, that sounds really Takei... The Don't Say Gay bill just passed the TN Senate 19 to 11. Those kids need our support more than ever! A big thx to my Tweeps who pushed my video to #1 "most viewed comedy" on YouTube in the last 24 hrs!”
Hey, Tennessee! Here's my response to your "Don't Say Gay" Bill
George may not have made the Forbes top 100 most powerful celebrities list this year, but we sure are honored to have him on InfoStar’s top 10 influential gay celebrities list for 2011.
Related: InfoStar's Top 10 Influential Gay Celebrities - 2011 Edition
In addition to his work on gay advocacy and politics, George has won several awards and accolades for his work on human rights and Japanese-American relations, including his work with the Japanese American National Museum.
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