I think the public's more understanding now of the gay and lesbian issue. It's much more sophisticated than it was two or three decades ago.

It will go a long way toward reducing the hostility toward lesbian and gay athletes and coaches that results in harassment and discrimination and negatively affects team unity. It has a lot of really good impact.

And let's not make any mistake, or gloss over that fact: Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are at risk every day of their lives. Not only are we the group most at risk of violence, we are most at risk of job discrimination, losing our families; homophobia retains its title as the last socially acceptable form of bigotry.

This episode goes into the homes of real families to show that gay and lesbian couples make the same kinds of commitments that straight couples make. These stories show the stark difference in how our government treats same-sex couples, who, without the protections that married couples enjoy, are often left in the cold at times when they are at their most vulnerable.

The group wanted not only to know where voters are on that issue but how they see gay and lesbian rights in totality.

I would say that I'm a feminist theorist before I'm a queer theorist or a gay and lesbian theorist.