Safe havens for children are hard to come by these days, especially in the sex-saturated and violence-ridden world of television, so a family-friendly station like Nickelodeon is an oasis to parents searching the desert of TV-land for safe viewing for their kids.

But perhaps the oasis was only a mirage.

            Lest we think the issue of gay parenting is relegated to Hollywood, think again. Two Lexington men are expecting quadruplets due to be born this August.  Thomas Dysarz and Michael Meehan both said they always longed to be fathers.  Now with the help of in vitro fertilization and a willing surrogate, they will be fathers four times over--a first for homosexual partners.  While Dysarz and Meehan aren’t play acting for some film script, gay parenting will probably become more common so long as television networks remain a conduit for the homosexual agenda.

            Nickelodeon spokesmen insisted that the program was a balanced, factual attempt to explain a difficult issue to children, but if that’s true why did Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN)—both radical homosexual rights groups, have input in developing the show?  Pro-family groups like Focus on the Family and Family Research Council were not asked for their input.  In fact, the show was hosted by well-known gay rights advocate Linda Ellerbee.  So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the only interview portraying homosexuality in a negative light ended up on the cutting room floor.

         Carmelo Torres, an employee of Concerned Women for America and a man who was traumatized as a child by his mother’s embrace of lesbianism, was interviewed for the special but none of the interview was aired.

            So where’s the balance?

            It certainly wasn’t found in the adults featured in the half-hour segment. Appearing were three homosexuals, including outspoken lesbian Rosie O’Donnell, a gay school principal, and a gay New York City firefighter involved in the 9/11 rescue efforts.  No straight adults were featured. No viewpoint from Rosie’s polar opposite Dr. Laura, nor was perspective solicited from a straight NYC firefighter for that matter.

What’s a kid to think? 

            Whatever the answers may be, parents and advertisers had lots of thoughts and they let the network know about them. Prior to airing the show, Nickelodeon received so many e-mail messages that the network had to create a new address to prevent a computer crash.  In all, nearly 250,000 parents voiced objections to the show through e-mails, phone messages and petitions. Advertisers took their cue in the midst of the controversy and withdrew their sponsorships.  Before all could pull out, Nick decided to go with a commercial-free program.

  It makes you wonder what was going on in the upper echelons of Nickelodeon.  If the general public doesn’t want it, and if your advertisers won’t pay for it, why push ahead?  Perhaps they felt duty-bound to enlighten America’s children with the politically correct view on homosexuality.

To be fair, Ellerbee did hear from the other side. Barely.  Three kids on the panel tried to articulate a traditional perspective on gay marriage but the majority were in favor of it.  Ellerbee did token interviews of Jerry Falwell and a spokesman for Concerned Women for America, but the bulk of the show was devoted to engendering sympathy for homosexuals. The overriding sentiment was that if you oppose gay marriage you are either ignorant, intolerant, or hateful.

It’s a shame that Nick ingratiated itself with America’s families and used kids as pawns in the debate over gay parenting.  What’s worse is that thousands of children who tuned in expecting to watch a show like Andy Griffith must have been perplexed by “My Family is Different.”  It’s confusing enough to be a kid these days and Nick’s show certainly confused them even more about what constitutes marriage and family.

But we’re not in Mayberry anymore.

Neither is Nickelodeon, but it may be a good place for them to return if they insist upon being called a network “parents can trust.”