'Modern Family' Shows Support For Supreme Court Marriage Equality Ruling, Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson Speaks Out

Award-winning ABC comedy series “Modern Family” has shown its support for the recent Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality. Actor Jesse-Tyler Ferguson speaks out about how the show has helped changed public perception on gay marriage.

One of the most popular on-screen gay couples would have to be Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) of “Modern Family.” Winner of 5 consecutive Emmy Awards for “Best Comedy Series,” the show is undoubtedly popular and well-loved. When the Supreme Court ruling came out supporting marriage equality across the United States on June 27, the official “Modern Family” Twitter account was quick to react.

A throwback photo from the pair’s same-sex marriage was shared and it was filtered with a red equality logo. It may be remembered that the 2-part season 5 finale was centered around Mitch and Cam’s wedding. While the show’s characters were always supportive about the union, the creators kept it realistic by showing the couple’s fathers having a tough time accepting their sons’ sexual orientations.

It all worked out in the end with both fathers eventually coming to terms with the marriage. Ferguson spoke to Variety about how he thinks “Modern Family” influenced public perception on marriage equality.

“’Modern Family’ has become a pop-culture touchstone, an easy and safe way to expose audiences to many different relationships in a way that doesn’t feel threatening.’ He said. Ferguson also went on to say that the character development for Mitch and Cam was done so well in such a way that their “gayness” is not the be all and end all of their personas. They are presented first as sons and fathers. One is a lawyer and the other is a teacher. They have quirks in their personalities and the gay factor is just another layer of their characters as a whole.

Despite the major milestone for the LGBT community, Ferguson knows that there is still a long way to go in terms of changing public perception. In another report, Variety shared some other shows that have been making an active stance in changing public perception. Among these shows are “Orphan Black,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Glee” and most recently, “Empire,” which deals with homosexuality extensively in its first season.

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