Petition Grows for Bert and Ernie to Get Married

But Sesame Street creators seem intent on preserving the characters' 40-year relationship just the way it is.

An online petition is trying to get everyone's favourite probably-gay duo, Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie, to tie the knot on television now that same-sex marriage is legal in New York. The two, who have lived together in a run-down apartment for decades, have never publicly stated their sexuality (THE PRESSURE BUILDS), although they do sleep in the same bedroom and carry on much like an old married couple either way. Sesame Street, though, doesn't sound too keen on getting the pair hitched, saying that Bert and Ernie, who were created some 40 years ago, are merely best friends who were created to show kids that people with differences can get along together. People who have signed the petition (4,500 and counting) have also wondered about bringing in new homosexual characters and then have them get wed, so as to keep the sanctity of Bert and Ernie's “arrangement.”