Brian Fischer of the American Family Association has condemned popular TV show "Modern Family" as "poisonous" and "harmful to our culture" for its positive portrayal of homosexual relationships.
"'Modern Family,'" Fischer told host Kevin Miller in a radio interview, "is designed to make you think that same-sex households are wonderful and the optimum nurturing environment for children. We know that social research indicates exactly the opposite."
He went on to state that watching the show is "like getting a little bit of poison over a long period of time, eventually getting enough accumulation in where it can be kind of lethal to the organism." Fischer believes the show is essentially anti-heterosexual, as it depicts heterosexual marriage as "dreary" and gloomy."
Fischer's comments were made in response to "Modern Family" star Ty Burrell's statement the show had led to "progress" and "planted a seed" among conservatives against homosexuality. "The show has normalized gay marriage," said Burrell.
Burrell believes that writers are "making the world a better place. It's one of my favorite things about the show," he told The Telegraph. "I love it when I talk to conservatives and they're describing all three couples, and they never mention that one of them is gay. That's the brilliance of the writing. In a completely, apolitical way, they are showing this couple as completely normal dealing with ordinary stuff."
However, Fischer feels the show's normalizing of homosexual marriage is dangerous for impressionable viewers. "People are just watching TV to be entertained, not realizing that their view of life is being twisted in a way that's very harmful to them and harmful to our culture," he warned.
Burrell is not the only "Modern Family" actor to promote gay marriage; Jesse Tyler Ferguson who plays gay parent Mitchell Pritchett on the show donated $10,000 of his own money toward the battle for same-sex marriage rights in Australia. He also told USA Today in 2010 that he hoped the show would help people become more comfortable with gay marriage.
"[Modern Family is] a safe 'in' for a lot of people who are on the fence about the issue," he stated. "They feel OK liking our couple. Maybe that will bleed into their personal life. Maybe it's not such a big deal if two men raise a baby."
According to reports, "Modern Family," which is in its 5th season, is one of the most popular series on television, averaging about 12 million viewers per episode. The show has won several awards, including 18 Emmys and named Outstanding Comedy series four years in a row.
The American Family Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1977 by Pastor Donald E. Wildmon. It is currently led by President Tim Wildmon and claims to promote traditional family values, focusing primarily on the influence of television and other media on society.
