TV show cast fights Knight initiative in ad ('Will & Grace' Sitcom Goes Political With TV Ad)
Yahoo! News (Reuters) 8Dec99 N1
By Andrew Quinn

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- The stakes over California's "Knight Initiative," also known as Proposition 22, continue to rise as both sides prepare for a March vote. Now, the cast of a television show that includes two gay characters has weighed-in, producing a television ad that claims the proposition will legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians. The cast of the sitcome "Will &Grace" announced Wednesday that they had produced the ad.The TV spot by the show could start appearing in California as early as January.

Supporters of the initiative say that the ad is simply Hollywood morals, out of touch with mainstream America, "It would not affect anyone's rights. It would not do anything to discriminate,'' said Robert Glazier, spokesman for the effort to pass the initiative. "We just see this as another example of Hollywood liberals being out of touch with mainstream men and women who see marriage as the foundation of our American families.''

The controversial initiative has received extensive support from the LDS and Catholic Churches. The LDS Church has suggested to Church members that they donate to the campaign supporting the initiative, and coordinated efforts to collect those donations. The Catholic Church has also made donations to the cause.

The spot does break new ground, since it is the first time that the entire cast of a network television series has taken a stand on a political issue in a TV spot, according to No on Knight Campaign Manager Mike Marshall. But an NBC spokeswoman tried to distance the network from the commercial, "Each of our talent have their own personal beliefs and causes that they support,'' the spokeswoman said.