Pauley Perrette
I have long been a fan of CBS’ hit show NCIS, although I have been disappointed, to say the very least, by some of the anti-transgender plotlines/comments that I have seen on the show — specifically in the 19th episode of the first season, titled “Dead Man Talking.”
But one of the main reasons I like NCIS so much is the character of Abby Sciuto, played by Pauley Perrette. Abby is the NCIS team’s goth girl forensic scientist, who is addicted to a soft drink called Caf-Pow, loves heavy metal music, is heavily inked, sleeps in a coffin, is amazingly loyal to her friends and is a VERY outspoken liberal. Pauley Perrette is pretty goth herself. And she is a VERY outspoken liberal.
This week Perrette confirmed to her fans via Twitter that yes, she is definitely engaged to her boyfriend, former British marine Thomas Arklie. But she also confirmed that she and Arklie will not be getting married until Proposition 8 — the state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California — is permanently rescinded.
“Me & #MyMarine [Fiancé] are totally engaged now but will NOT GET MARRIED UNTIL #Prop8 is OVER,” Perrette declared in one Tweet. She later followed up with this clarification: “We’re Not getting married because Prop 8 is unjust. But having blast being engaged. He re-asks me everyday & I say Yes.”
Now this isn’t the first time Perrette has spoken out in support of LGBT rights. She has participated in Adam Bouska’s NoH8 photo campaign against Prop 8. And last January, she attended the People’s Choice Awards wearing a dress emblazoned with the NoH8 logo.
And while I don’t expect Pauley Perrette will ever read this blog post, I wanted to take a moment to say congratulations on your engagement; here’s wishing you many happy years ahead. And I want to say thanks for your support for our community and our rights. We won’t win this war without the support of non-LGBT allies like you.
And while I’m at it, Pauley, I’m going to go ahead and ask if maybe you could have a word with the writers or the producers or whomever over at NCIS about the trans-bashing on the show. The trans people are often the most victimized and marginalized segment of our community. They don’t need NCIS adding to the bashing.
